Chicken Heart
by AlphaTheGriffin17
Summary: On the lead up to Valentine's Day, Chica isn't feeling the joy she'd normally feel. Despite the return of a long absent friend, it has not been without further difficulties. But in the spirit of the day of love, she makes it her mission to dispel these tensions if she can. But she isn't the only one dealing with personal feelings... Synthetic Saga Special 2.
1. Never Doubt a Cupcake

**Never Doubt a Cupcake**

Chica gazed forlornly at the heart-shaped tassels she was meant to be decorating the restaurant. Normally, the sight of them and the day they signalled would be enough to put a smile on her face and a song in her heart which she'd let her voice express while she went about her work. Sometimes a little dance if she felt like no one was watching.

This year, however, there was no quickening of her heart, no irresistible grin or fit of giggles. All that came out of her was a sigh as she unravelled the tassel to line the walls of the dining room. She would still do the decorations even if all it meant was that no one else would have to bother themselves with doing it and despite the mood she was in, she wasn't willing to break one of her yearly traditions.

She groaned while she fumbled with the tassels. They always got so tangled up while they were in storage and it looked especially bad this time. Untangling them was going to be grating to say the least. She saw movement next to her out of the corner of her eye and was pleasantly surprised to see who had joined her.

"Looks like ya need a lil' help navigatin' these treacherous tangles, lass," remarked Foxy.

"Oh. Um, don't worry Foxy, I'll be alright," she insisted.

"I don't doubt that but there's nothin' wrong with an extra hand. Anyone who's ever captained a vessel'll tell ya that," he said sagely.

"Well, when you put it like that." She smiled slightly. "Thank you, Foxy."

"No trouble, Chica." He set to work untangling his bit. "No help from Bonnie then?"

"Not around this time of year," she answered.

"Spendin' it as she always spends it, eh?" Foxy looked in the direction of her closet and barked a laugh. "Wouldn't expect any less. And Freddy's havin' a moment with our returnin' member?"

"They are," she affirmed.

"And Mike I believe is catchin' up on his sketchin'," concluded Foxy. "Good thing I was free ta help then, eh?"

"So it seems," she muttered, trying to ignore the twinge she felt at Mike's name.

"Aye." He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "How fares ye?"

"I'm… quite well thank you, Foxy." It wasn't a total lie. "How are you?"

"Fairly middlin', I'd say," he admitted. "Are ya sure everythin's alright, lass? Ye've been a lil' distant these past few days, 'specially considerin' what day it is tomorrah."

"I see," she murmured. "Is um, that so?"

She cursed herself mentally. Had it really been that noticeable?

"Seems ta be. 'Bout this time-a year, yer more excited than a pirate with a chest full-a booty and a bottle full-a rum, yet yer actin' more like one that's been stricken down with scurvy and left marooned," he remarked. "Ya sure there's nothin' wrong?"

"Quite sure, Foxy," she said quietly.

"I'm only askin' outta concern, I'm not bein' nosy," he added. He glanced up and down. "It's… it's not because it's me doin' the askin', is it?"

"Hm?" She looked up at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I just thought that… I understand if maybe yer still not wholly comfortable talkin' ta me about anythin' personal, after…" He shifted his gaze down to the hand he usually had his hook on.

Chica gasped when she caught his meaning. "No! No, no, no, no, Foxy! I-It's nothing to do with that, not at all!"

"Right, right," he said quickly. "Never mind, lass. Ferget I said that, just bein' daft."

"Oh, Foxy," she cooed gently. "You're not daft. It's sweet you're so concerned. But I'm f-fine. Really, I a-am."

"Yer sure?" She nodded. "Well, if ye insist, lass." He tugged sharply on the tassels. "Argh, blast these things! I've grappled with octopuses less tangled'n this!"

She couldn't resist a slight giggle. "I can imagine. These however are not octopuses, so please keep your temper and don't tear them up."

"Aye, I won't," he grumbled, trying to be more careful with sorting out the mess. She smiled faintly at him and did the same.

Foxy was right about what he'd said. Valentine's Day was one of her favourite holidays and it was one she liked to celebrate with as much joy and affection as possible. She heard all the cynical remarks uttered by parents that it was just a way for card companies to get more money, but she didn't care. A day to celebrate love was one she could get behind.

During the week leading up to Valentine's Day and on the day itself, everything she did would be in the spirit of the day. At night she would make heart shaped pizzas and cupcakes with pink frosting and edible love hearts. She was always the one who did the decorating in the restaurant during the days leading up to it, starting small but building it up bit by bit until it culminated at the very end. The games she played with the children were ones like being given two halves of a paper heart to find the matching pair or quizzing them on their knowledge of fictional character couples.

The adults weren't left out either. She would also be looking around for whoever she judged to be cute couples and giving them coupons for reduced pizza or free dessert picked at random from her special heart shaped box. After all, love was sudden and so were its rewards. These couples would mainly be parents since very few people would want to go to a children's restaurant for a romantic meal, but she was happy with it. And she would watch them from afar, daring to dream of the day she would share moments those couples did. Now though…

She was so lost in her thoughts she missed what Foxy telling her something.

"Sorry, Foxy I was miles away. What did you say?" she asked.

"Wish I coulda joined ye," he chuckled. "I was just thinkin' 'bout how unfortunate it is Bonnie is missin' out on helpin' us."

"I um, don't think that's how she'd see it," pointed out Chica.

"Perhaps but I'm not so sure meself. She always says how much she hates this time-a year, but I think she needs ta give it a proper chance instead-a just bein' cooped up in the closet," he said mischievously. "I really think she'd benefit more if she joined us properly, don't ye?"

"Foxy," she said cautiously, "what are you going to do?"

"Just what any good friend would," he said innocently. He walked over to the west hall. "Oh Bonnie lass!"

"Whatever it is, forget it!" she replied instantly, her voice muffled but still quite clear.

"Aw come on, lass, there's no need fer that!" he replied. "Chica and I are out here missin' yer company! Come on out and join us!"

"Make like a turkey and stuff it, peg leg!" she retorted.

"Well alright then! I suppose ya won't mind if Chica and I talk about that guitarist feller ye've expressed a _great_ interest in!"

"What?!" There was a crash and a cry of pain that made Chica think Bonnie had suddenly stood up and banged her head on a shelf. "W-What the hell are you talking about? What guitarist?"

"Oh come on, ya must remember. Dave treated ya ta some-a his band's songs, somethin' ta do with guns and a kinda flower and I recall ya took a shine ta his style," he prompted casually. "Had long curly hair and he wore a top hat like Freddy and a set-a sunglasses too. He had an interestin' name too, somethin' ta do with cuttin'. Help me out here, Bonnie."

"I don't know what you're talking a-about!" she insisted loudly. "Shut your mouth and quit asking me dumb questions!"

Despite herself, Chica had to suppress a laugh imagining how flustered Bonnie must look right now. Foxy grinned at her reaction and pressed on.

"Cut? No, that wasn't it. Slice, I think. No, no, not quite but I reckon I'm close. It has a 'sl' sound. Slll… Slllaaaa… Chica, this ringin' any bells fer ye?" he asked.

"Hmm." She pressed a hand to her chin. "It might be. I think you're on the right lines, Foxy. Oh, I remember now! It was-"

"Cheeks, no!"

"Slash, wasn't it?"

Foxy snapped his fingers. "That's the one! Slash! From Guns N' Roses! Aye, I don't know how I managed ta ferget that. There was a time when barely a minute would go by without Bonnie bringin' him up in some way."

It seemed to have the desired effect. Mere seconds later, Chica heard the closet door open and Bonnie stalked into the dining area, her features set in a deadly glare.

"I didn't talk about him that much!" she defended.

"Oh, so ya do you remember him?" asked Foxy teasingly.

Her cheeks blushed a blue storm. "N-No! Yes! No, no! I dunno! Shut up!"

"It's all startin' ta come back now," he said reminiscently. "All yer talk about how great an artist he was, how big a presence he had on stage and in the songs, how his ability ta play was matched only by his and I quote, 'completely awesome dress sense'."

"I n-never said any of that!" she cried. "I swear, one more word-!"

"So, yer still standin' by that one time I found ye playin' guitar whilst wearin' one-a Freddy's hats was 'just fer a new look'?" he ventured.

"I-I was just…! You can't just…! I w-wasn't…!" she spluttered. Chica was trying her hardest to suppress her giggles, but they kept slipping out and Bonnie's face flushed all the more when they did. "Why, Cheeks? _Why_?"

"I'm sorry, Bonnie, it's just…" She paused to let out a couple of laughs. "It was rather adorable, really."

"No, no, no!" She rounded on Foxy. "You've turned her against me!"

"Now, now, don't ya go pinnin' anythin' on me or on this sweet child o' mine," he gestured to Chica. "Although I'd think ye'd know all about the sweet children ye'd want with Slash."

"O-Oh yeah? You mean uh, like that girl who kept coming here years ago?" she challenged.

Foxy's cocky expression faltered. "Eh?"

"Aw come on, you must know." Bonnie seemed to recover now she was gaining some traction. "She was a really nice girl and she _really_ liked you. A lot."

Now Chica's laughter was set off anew at the memory of what Bonnie was referring to. Foxy whipped his head at her and his own blushed cheeks indicated he knew exactly what Bonnie was talking about too. The latter looked just as happy at the results as Foxy had been before.

"Dunno what the devil yer own about," Foxy dismissed shortly.

"You mean you don't remember?" she gasped. "And after all those notes she left you too? Foxy, for shame. Imagine how hurt she'd be if she knew. Don't you remember all the heart and soul she put into them? I sure do."

"Bonnie, don't ye dare…"

"You do remember then?" she grinned. "I dunno, I think your memory is still a little rusty. Maybe I should give it a little jog with some of the ones I can remember?"

"I'm warnin' ye, lass!"

"'Oh Captain Foxy,'" she cried in her girliest voice, "'you've got me hooked and your blade has pierced my heart! Come on and dig up my buried treasure for only you have the key! Board my vessel and together we'll raise your Jolly Rodger!'" She cackled evilly. "And I thought Freddy's puns were cringey, but you can't fault her for-"

She didn't get to finish for Foxy's idea of a witty retort was to dive at her in a bid to tackle her to the floor. Bonnie saw this coming and side-stepped it, then pounced at Foxy before he could recover himself. She swiftly bounded toward him, pinned him with her legs and grabbed his arm in a lock.

"Say uncle! Say it!" she demanded.

"In yer dreams, long ears!" She twisted more and he yowled in discomfort. "That… the best ye've… got!"

"Come on, peg leg! What do you think could get you outta this?" taunted Bonnie.

"How about a distraction?" a new voice suggested.

"Huh?" Bonnie turned to the source of the voice.

It was enough to make her lessen her grip on Foxy. He yanked his arm free, rolled underneath her and pushed her off. However, neither of them resumed their tussle when they saw who had spoken.

Golden was standing near the entrance to the backstage door. Since re-joining them, it was decided that she needed some sort of body so that it would be less strange than just addressing thin air. They'd let her occupy Arnie the endoskeleton in the backroom and had adorned him with the pieces of her old suit that Aaron had moved from the warehouse. There hadn't been any time to get it fixed yet, so it still looked as frayed as before.

It was like her presence had flicked some sort of switch. The atmosphere of camaraderie was dispelled by a thick, overlaying tension. Bonnie glared at her with a withering gaze. Foxy glanced warily from one to the other. Chica just tried to avoid looking at Golden altogether and tried to distract herself with putting up more decorations.

"Case and point," said Golden smartly. "You're welcome by the way, Foxy."

"Uh, aye. Thanks, Golden," he muttered.

"My pleasure," she returned.

"Yeah, that would be your sort of thing." The tone of Bonnie's voice matched her glare.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie," Golden replied with an edge in her calm voice. "What exactly would be my sort of thing?"

"A distraction. It's a sneaky kind of trick. Like I said, just your thing."

"Hmm, I see." Again, Golden's voice was still controlled. "Yes, I can see how informed your opinion is, since you're always so honest and upfront about everything."

Bonnie's fists clenched. "What the hell are you saying about me?"

"Easy now, lass," murmured Foxy.

"Whatever you may interpret," she returned. A tense silence fell for a few moments. "Do you need any help there, Chica?"

"H-Huh?" Chica whirled her head around in surprise at being addressed. "E-Excuse me?"

"It's just you look like you've got a fair bit to sort through." She was trying to sound friendly, but it came off as strangely stilted, not the usual self-assured tone she took. "I thought you may need some extra help.

"Um, n-no thank you," she said quickly and looked away.

"Chica, please, I only want to help." She held up her suited hands. "These aren't the most delicate or dextrous of extremities, but I'm sure I could manage something."

"U-Uh… well…"

"Hey, didn't you hear her?" Bonnie stepped between her and Golden. "She said she didn't want your help."

"I believe she can speak for herself easily enough, Bonnie," she replied testily.

"Yeah and she already did." Bonnie thrusted a finger at her. "She said she wanted you to back off, so back off."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do."

"Too bad, because I'm telling you!"

"And what exactly gives you authority?"

"You're gonna find out if you don't step away!" Bonnie's hands clenched again.

"Ah, I see. The most basic and simplest form. Just _your_ thing."

"Now, that's enough," Foxy said, stepping between them both with added effort given to Bonnie. "Golden, stop it."

"Stop what? She's the one threatening to hit me," defended Golden.

"Get out of my way, Foxy," growled Bonnie. "One minute, that's all I need."

"See?" gestured Golden.

"Aye, because yer pushin' her ta," countered Foxy. "She wouldn't be doin' this if ye weren't tryin' ta get under her skin."

"As opposed to those times she's been so hospitable and welcoming?"

"Screw you!" snapped Bonnie.

"Them feelin's aren't unfounded," argued Foxy. "Ye've not really done much ta endear yerself considerin' what ye've done."

"Which coming from you means what?" she asked.

"Belay that!" bellowed Foxy.

Now she backed away. "Right, right, that was the wrong thing to say-"

"You're damn right it is!" Bonnie stepped around Foxy. "Who the hell do you think you are, throwing that in his face and lording it over him?!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, it just slipped out," she insisted.

"What the hell gives you the right?! You think just because you've not taken a chunk out of someone, that makes you better?!"

"I didn't mean to say that, it was, I don't know, an automatic response."

"Oh, well that makes it all okay then! It's okay, Foxy! Golden didn't mean to remind you of the worst day of your life, it was just an accident!"

"I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, Bonnie!" she retorted. "How long did he have to wait before you spoke to him again? How long did you abandon him for?"

"Don't you even begin to compare what happened to you with what happened to Foxy!"

"Both-a ye, stop!" shouted Foxy. "This isn't makin' things better!"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're seriously trying to defend what she just said!"

"I'm not, but this isn't helpin' matters!"

"Neither is she!"

Chica didn't want to hear any more of this. She hadn't finished decorating the dining area, but she didn't care. She just had to get away from this. She grabbed what she could, stuffed it back into the box and slipped away down the east hallway, hoping to decorate somewhere else that meant she wouldn't be in the same room as that.

Until she remembered where exactly her route was taking her. She froze and thought of doubling back, but it was too late. She was already in view of the window and the office occupant looked up from his drawing.

"Oh. Um… hey, Chica," Mike greeted awkwardly.

"H-Hello, Mike," she returned in a similar fashion.

"Hey," he repeated. The seconds of silence seemed to crawl by. "Um… a-another argument, huh?"

"Yes. It's… well…" She cast about for something, anything else to talk about and landed on his sketch book. "W-What are you working on?"

"Huh? Oh this? It's a uh… a-a commission someone wanted."

He held it up. It appeared to be a flying woman with long dark hair, dressed in some skin tight clothing, her hand clenched in a fist while something glowed from it. A star symbol was emblazoned on her chest.

"I see. What is it, exactly?" she asked.

"She's a um… I don't suppose you've ever heard of Green Lantern?" he ventured.

"N-No, sorry."

"Oh." Mike sounded disappointed. "I uh, don't think you'd get it then."

"R-Right. Sorry," she repeated.

"It's okay." He pursed his lips for a few moments, his eyes darting about in several directions. "You look uh… good. Great, I mean. Really uh, great."

"R-Really? Well…" Even though it was awkwardly given and she almost wished he hadn't, Chica still felt a little flustered from the compliment. "Th-Thank you, M-Mike."

"It's okay. I-I mean it, you uh, really do," he added.

"Thanks." Silence came again, though she could hear Freddy's raised voice down the hall. "I'm uh, going to… to decorate the kitchen," she said lamely. "Um… h-have a good night, Mike."

"Yeah. You too."

She shuffled back down the corridor to the closest thing she had to a sanctuary. Passing through the dining room, she saw that Freddy had ended the argument. Golden was stepping back into the backstage room with Freddy holding open the door. Bonnie glared at her passing and stalked off back to the cupboard. Foxy made to go after her, stopped, looked to Golden, then shook his head and returned to his Cove.

Chica felt a kind of relief the moment she was in the kitchen and the doors were shut. But it was still so much. Her mind weighed heavily and her feelings were overwhelming her. She needed to vent them, to get it all out.

She took her oven mittens and covered the camera with them, adding her apron for good measure. It was enough to muffle the microphone inside it, she'd discovered. Normally she wouldn't do this but right now, she needed some personal space and she didn't want Mike of all people listening in on it.

She took out her unique prop, a fake cupcake with pink icing and adorable blue eyes perched on top. Normally she would just carry it for effect, but she could also use it as a puppet in a very unique way. Thanks to her synthetic nature and a control interface on the plate she carried it on, she had the ability to transmit her voice through the cupcake as a form of technological ventriloquism. She didn't even have to move her lips, just point and think.

She would bring out Lil' Cupcake in case there was a child who needed a little cheering up and wanted a little friend to talk to. As strange as it might seem, she sometimes had need for him. Not often, but there were moments when she needed to think by herself and in a strange way, it helped. Just a way to get her thoughts and feelings out.

"Hello there, little friend. It's been a while. How've you been?" Lil' Cupcake gave her a blank stare and silence. "Same as always then. Me? Well, it's rather hard to say. A lot's been going on since we last spoke, to say the least. Foxy's doing much better. He really came through for us recently and I'm so proud of him. I've seen a side to Bonnie that I never even knew was there. You know how guarded she is when it comes to her emotions. I never imagined she would be…" She trailed off. "Freddy I think we've started to turn a corner with. I'll admit he's being slow at dropping his old habits, but they're the ones that die the hardest. He's trying, I think. It's too early to tell really, but I'll keep you updated. And Golden's back with us so… that's something

"But in all of this I still haven't really talked about me yet, have I?" She laughed a little, then sighed. "Well, normally I'd be feeling rather great around this time. My favourite day is only two days away but… I'm not really feeling it this year. I… I was silly again. I let my heart run away with my head. Now Mike and I we're… well, we… we're not going anywhere. We agreed we'd be friends but I have no idea what to say to him anymore. I don't know how to behave around him now. Where do we go from here? What do we have to build on? Can we… actually be friends? I hate to say this but… I don't know him as much as I might like to think I do. Were we ever really friends or w-was it just my crush? I don't know…

She clutched her face in her hands. "I want to be friends with him, I really do. But everything's just so awkward now. We can barely say two words to each other, let alone hold a conversation. Even worse, there's still tensions between Golden and everyone else too. It's Bonnie, really. She was never open to the idea of letting her back among us. I suppose I don't really blame her for thinking the way she does but it's not helping. She gets angry, Golden gets angry, Foxy gets angry because Golden's angry at Bonnie, Freddy gets angry and I'm just… I don't even know what to do. What can I do? I'm just… j-just plain, shy, stupid Chica. I-I can't take charge like Freddy o-or be match Foxy's spirit or be b-bold like Bonnie…

"Bonnie…" She laughed a little. "She said something to me a few days ago, you know. Sh-She told me that she was always jealous of me. C-Can you imagine? The most cocky, boastful person I know jealous of me. What's the world coming to? You think you know someone, then…" Her eyes wandered to the kitchen door. "Then again, that seems to put things into perspective for me. No one I know ever seems to be how I think they are a-and the way I hope things are… never seems to be the case. Sometimes, I wish things could just, I don't know, lock in place. Just take a moment when we're all happy exactly the way things are and then freeze it. Take that moment and keep it forever. Then things wouldn't have to change. We could all be happy… together…

She sighed. "But there I go again. Wishing for things I can never have." She felt her chest tighten and she clenched her fist. "It's not fair! I r-really hoped, this one time, th-that it would be different. Th-That Mike would be the one. We went out for dinner, h-he let me hold his arm, we ice skated… we kissed. It all seemed so perfect, like how I dreamed it would be." For a moment, she smiled at the feeling of happiness she'd felt in those memories. But mingled with her current emotions, it soon soured into bitterness. "But no… I got it wrong again. I always, always get it wrong! Every single time! I couldn't have what I wanted, even this one time! I don't get to perform without wearing that stupid suit! I don't get to find true love because I'm stuck in this stupid place! I don't get to be normal because I'm just a stupid synthetic! B-Bonnie told me something she envied me for was how much I care? Well, if it always hurts this much, I wish I didn't care! You hear me?! I wish I didn't care!"

She slammed her fist onto the counter. The tears she'd felt building during all of that began to trickle down her cheeks. For a few minutes, the only thoughts that were going through her head was why. Why did she do this? What was the point of it?

It was looking at Lil' Cupcake that reminded her. For the smiles and laughter of those children. For her band and her family who despite their shortcomings had never let her down. For the faint hope that, one day, she may not have to live like this ever again. Until and after that day, she had to be strong and be the best she could for everyone.

She looked up to see Lil' Cupcakes eyes on her. Could she be blamed for imagining that they almost looked reproachful of her?

"Y-You're right. I didn't really mean that. I was just… I'm sorry…" She wiped her eyes and took a couple of breaths. "I n-need to pull myself together. This is… this is being childish. Selfish. This isn't helping me and it isn't helping m-my friends. I need to do something, I know that. I-If I want to get better, I h-have to be the one to do it." She took a few moments to get control of herself and collect her thoughts. "Okay, I'm calm. C-Calm. Now, there has to be some way I can try to make things better, I just have to think about it." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "There has to be something. I only wish this didn't have to happen so close to Valentine's Day. A day when people are supposed to come together, out of love for… each other."

It hit her in that moment. A new revelation. "Of course! Why didn't I see this sooner?! It's so obvious! I don't have to be sad about Valentine's Day because that's how I can do it! I _can_ do it!" She squealed with excitement. "Oh, this is perfect! Wait, what time is it?" She looked up at the clock. Four hours until they opened. "Oh my, that's not a lot of time. If I'm going to get started, it'll have to be now. Alright, alright, ingredient check. I should have everything…"

She did a quick scour of the kitchen for what she needed. She knew this kitchen like the back of her hand and thanks to her synthetic speed, she was able to move quickly to get what she needed. Cake mix, heart shaped sprinkles, icing, flour, toppings, knives, sauce. She separated pizza and cake ingredients on different counters so nothing would get mixed up. From the Valentine's Day box she brought out paper, pens, pencils and scissors, set them on an empty counter and looked around in satisfaction.

"Right, that's everything, don't you think?" she said in aside to Lil' Cupcake. "Although it is going to be a lot of work, even for me. I think I might need extra pairs of hands and I know just the people to ask." She trilled a couple of notes in newfound joy and turned to her little friend. "Thank you for listening, Lil' Cupcake. I feel better now and I'm sorry for, well, losing myself there. It's good to know I can count on you to help me, my trusty little treat."

She planted a kiss on the top of his head and imagined his eyes glint with gratitude before setting off to recruit her temporary assistants.

* * *

Hey there everybody! It's been a while, hasn't it? You all have no idea how much I missed writing these stories. This one had me tearing my hair out for a while of how it was going to pan out, but I've sorted it out with some help from a friend of mine. Thanks for putting up with my random messages, Chick.

Just like my last special, this'll be shorter than the main series instalments but that doesn't mean it'll be any less enriching. I hope. It's not all finished, but I only have two chapters to go. Don't expect daily updates for this thing but know that most of this has been written. I just want to draw this out because I'm cruel like that.

Anyway, hope you enjoy what I have in store. Also its my birthday. Yay.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	2. All Hands on Deck

**All Hands on Deck**

Chica approached Pirate's Cove with more than a little trepidation. Part of it had to do with the last time she'd come to the Cove, seeking to comfort Foxy all those years ago. The results had been far from pleasant to say the least. Though they'd both agreed it was time to move on, she couldn't stop the small flashes of memory from that day.

There was also a little doubt. Foxy had been able to help her, along with Bonnie, to emerge from a very dark place only a few days ago. This wasn't quite on the same level to be sure, but there was still that doubt if she could bring him around the same way we had. Had it been too long since she'd had to do this? Did she understand him as well as she liked to think? The last time she thought she had…

She shook her head furiously. That wasn't fair to him. She'd already promised to try and move on from what Foxy had done to her. She had to give him a chance and give herself one too or she'd never get over it completely. She took a couple of breaths and remembered the jaunty tune he'd sung for her a few days ago, like he'd done before. His silly antics, his boisterous enthusiasm, his nautical nonsense. That was her Foxy, not the angry, bitter soul who'd been the Cove's occupant for over twenty years.

She approached the curtain and cleared her throat. Just be yourself, she chanted like a mantra in her head. She tensed a little when Foxy did pull back the curtain with a look of annoyance, but it softened when he saw her. That made her relax a little too.

"Captain." She gave a little salute. "Permission to enter, sir? Or is it still bad luck to have a woman aboard a ship?"

Foxy chuckled appreciatively at that. "Now, that's one piece-a pirate superstition I never agreed with. No such thing as bad luck with a lass like ye, Chica."

"Great praise from an astute sailor like you," she returned. "Do I have permission to board ship then?"

"Ye don't even need permission." He stood aside and gave her a bow. "Step aboard, Miss Chicken."

"Thank you, Mr. Fox," she said with a small curtsy and stepped into the Cove. "Well, it looks a little tidier since the last time I was here."

"I was hopin' ye'd think so. I may be a pirate, but that doesn't mean I don't understand things have their proper place. Don't want ta be reachin' fer a pistol in a bind and wind up grabbin' a ladle from the galley," he said sagely.

"Quite so," she agreed. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Aye, I'm fine. Just in a bit of a bind meself," he admitted. "I try ta keep things civil between those two and that's what Golden gives me." He growled in frustration and swiped at the air below him like it had called him a nasty name. "I'm open ta her tryin' ta change her ways, but I have ta say I'm not seein' much of an improvement."

"Hmm," she agreed. "Well… she said she didn't mean what she said. To you, anyway. I suppose it's better than before when she didn't even apologise for those sorts of things."

"She may not have meant what she said, but the result is still bad. I know," he said darkly. "Mike vouches fer her and I'm still fer givin' her a chance if she wants it, but she needs ta make the effort."

Maybe we do too, thought Chica briefly. "We'll just have to wait and see. I hope things get better for her. For all of us."

"Aye," he nodded. "But let's not be discussin' such unpleasant things that make our mood foul. How are ye farin'? I noticed ye were quick ta make yerself scarce followin' that business. I was goin' ta check on ye after I blew off some steam in here first."

"I'm better Foxy, thank you."

"Ye sure? I thought I could hear what sounded like yellin' comin from the kitchen." He looked away briefly. "Although, if ye'd rather not talk about it…"

"Foxy, that's a-actually what I came to ask you about," she said, pleased she was able to avoid the subject of herself.

"What be that, lass?"

"Foxy, is everything okay with you and me?" she asked after a while.

Foxy's smile faltered a little. "Well, a-course it is, lass. Why would ye ask?"

"Foxy, please don't try and conceal things like this from me. I know there's something. You seemed to think so before when you wanted to try and talk to me," she noted. "Foxy, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to answer me honestly."

"That's askin' a lot from a pirate." His chuckles stopped abruptly when Chica's serious expression didn't change. "Ye have me word, Chica."

"Alright then." She allowed a moment to pass, then, "Do you still feel guilty about… about scarring me? Is that why you thought I wouldn't talk to you?"

Foxy didn't answer, not immediately. He seemed to be mulling over on how exactly to respond. Chica didn't try pushing him, she was content to wait until he was comfortable rather than try to rush his answer.

Eventually, in a quiet voice, he said, "Aye, that be true."

"Oh, Foxy." She stepped closer to him, gazing into his face. "I thought we'd already moved past that."

"I know, I know," he said quickly. "I'm only sayin' I'd understand if ya still had some lingerin' doubts about me. I know that it's not goin' ta change so quickly in just four nights. Not an easy thing ta ferget somethin' like that."

"Foxy," she said kindly, "do you really think I would have asked you to heal my scar if I wasn't ready to move on?" She reached down and took the hand his hook would be attached to. "You might be right, it's not easy to forget something like that. But that doesn't mean I don't forgive you for it. If you ever feel like this again, you come and talk to me about it. Agreed?"

Foxy smiled warmly at her. "Ye have me word, Chica. Just so long as ye do the same."

Chica nodded and managed to keep her own smile while ignoring the fact she was already breaking that promise. But it wasn't the same thing. Foxy didn't need to be bothered with something like another of her failed crushes.

"Then we have an accord," he declared, shaking her hand. "Oh, that reminds me! I meant ta give ya somethin'. I was goin' ta wait until the day, but now seems like a good time."

He went to his treasure chest and lifted its fake top of plastic coins to reveal the true insides. Among a few bits and pieces for synthetic upkeep, a couple of props and the empty rum bottle he'd gotten for Christmas he dug out a folded piece of paper.

"Here." He gave it to her. "I know me artistic skills leave somethin' ta be desired, but I hope ye like it."

Chica only just stifled a giggle. It was a card Foxy had made himself, clearly done using the colouring things they left for the children. On the cover was an image of her suit head. Though it was crude, it was smiling brightly with _To Chica_ decorating the space of the top and bottom of the head. Opening the card was another crude drawing, one that depicted a ship with her at the helm and Foxy on the bow gazing to the horizon.

Next to it was a simple, yet heartfelt message.

 _For a grand crewmate, a fine friend and the kindest woman I've had the pleasure of knowing. Fair winds to you in Valentine's name._

 _From  
Foxy. _

"Foxy you absolute dear!" She pulled him in for another hug and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, this is very sweet of you."

He shrugged modestly. "Aye, well, it was worth it fer that." He gestured to her beaming smile. "Ye rival the sun's glow with them pearly whites, lass."

"Awww. Thank you again, Foxy," she said sincerely. "You look much better when you smile too. For a pirate."

"That's sayin' somethin' indeed," he chuckled. "Now, shall I let you go? Doubtless yer busy gettin' things ready fer Valentine's Day."

"Actually, that's the main reason I came by. I was hoping you could help me a little with the preparations. I know that I usually prefer to do this myself," she added, "but I've left things rather late this year, so…"

"Say no more, Chica. Just tell me what needs doin'," he said positively.

"Excellent. For now, could you wait in the kitchen for me please? I want to get Bonnie to help out too," she explained.

"Ya want me ta try and bring her around?" asked Foxy.

"That's fine, I think I know how to handle her," she said.

"Right ye are." He stood at attention and tried to put on a sophisticated accent. "Will that be all then, actin' cap'n?"

"Foxy…" she tittered, but played along. "Yes, private that will be all. Dismissed. Go to the kitchen and await further orders."

"Aye ma'am," he saluted and smartly marched out.

Chica watched him go, silently admiring his boundless enthusiasm when the mood was right. If it weren't for the vividness of her memories, she would have found it hard to remember why she'd held such fear for him.

She mentally prepared herself for tackling the opposite end of the spectrum. She made a point not to let herself linger and stare down the hallway towards the security office while she approached Bonnie's closet. Instead, she knocked and waited, resolutely focusing on the door. It cracked open to reveal a sliver of Bonnie's face.

"Who the-?" Her annoyed tone softened and she opened it wider. "Oh, hey Chica. I thought for a sec it was… doesn't matter. What's up?"

"Nothing, I came to see how you were," she answered.

She let out a small laugh. "Figures. Look, I get if you're worried but it's cool. I can deal with it."

"Oh, that's good to hear. I only wondered if you'd like to sit with me in the dining area," she offered. "We can have a nice little chat."

"Um, why?" asked Bonnie, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I need a reason to sit and talk with one of my best friends?" returned Chica. "If circumstances were more permitting, I'd be happy to stay here but that closet isn't really accommodating for us both. Unless you have something else you'd rather be doing?"

"Well…"

"Please, Bonnie?" asked Chica sweetly.

"Okay, okay, fine," she grumbled. "Let's go chat then."

"Lovely," she trilled, pleased that little trick still worked while they went and sat down. "So, how are you this evening?"

Bonnie shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Considering what's looming on the horizon like the constipation that follows after eating too much cheese pizza."

Chica made a noise that was a mix of amusement and disgust. "Well that's certainly vivid."

"Glad you think so," she said.

"At least it's only one day," reasoned Chica.

She snorted. "Yeah, one day I wish I could crumple up into a ball and throw it in the trash can. Then take that trash can, toss it in a compacter, take whatever's left, throw it in the incinerator and if there's still anything left, fire it off into space."

"Goodness!" she exclaimed. "I know you're not fond of Valentine's Day, but I've never heard you be this bitter about it."

"Yeah well, I guess things are different this year," she muttered.

"I see," nodded Chica. "I've always wondered, Bonnie. What is it exactly that you dislike about this time of year so much?"

"Do I need one?" she asked defensively.

"No, not at all," replied Chica hastily. "I'm just curious. Maybe there's some way I could help make it better for you, at the very least slightly more tolerable."

"I doubt it," she scoffed.

"Bon, please. Try me," ventured Chica.

Bonnie regarded her for a few moments, appearing to be mentally weighing up her options. Chica waited patiently with an encouraging smile. With a reluctant sigh, Bonnie spoke again.

"I dunno, it's just dumb. Like all that touchy feely stuff is weird enough already but then there's a whole day devoted to it? What did I do to deserve this?" She laughed a little. "It's not even that. From what I've heard loads of people say in here, it's just some scam so card companies can sell their mushy merchandise to people, same with candy companies."

"I… suppose that is true," admitted Chica. "But there has to be something you enjoy about it. Any little thing."

"Nope," she said bluntly. "Everything's too pink and too sappy for me to get a kick out of it. I really don't get what makes you so psyched for it." Her tone became noticeably bitterer. "I know we all have things we love and stuff, but you really like to get behind it. You're singing, you're smiling and you somehow get even nicer than you already are. No offense, but what is the big deal about it?"

"I only… wait…" Chica frowned at her. "Are you saying that it bothers you that I enjoy it?"

"No! It's just that… the thing is it's… I dunno!" she protested. "I just don't like Valentine's Day, what's the big deal?!"

Chica kept her patient tone. "Nothing at all, Bonnie. I was only asking, I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. But there's something else that's occurred to me."

"W-Well…" Doubt crept into her mind and kept her words back. "Actually, n-never mind."

"No, go on," insisted Bonnie firmly, but not harshly. "You got something to say, I wanna hear it from you."

"Yeah, what?" she snapped.

"Well…" Chica thought carefully of how to say it. "It's only I-I remember what you said to me a-about that you feel jealous about how I am w-with my emotions. I'm wondering if, perhaps… that might be another reason?"

Bonnie looked like she was going to respond, but her mouth clamped shut in the same moment. Shame mingled with anger began to twist her features and she looked away. Chica immediately felt horrible for that and tried to correct her mistake.

"Oh Bonnie, no. Please don't get upset, I'm sorry-"

"You're sorry? _You're_ sorry?!" she cried, standing up. "I'm the one who should be sorry! Don't be sorry when you're right! I'm supposed to be your friend and this is the kind of stuff I do?! Hate you behind your back because love something so much that I can't enjoy?! Because of how you are?! How pathetic is that?! That's all I am! I'm… I'm pathetic!"

She turned around to face the wall, her shoulders shaking and her fists clenched. It made Chica's heart ache to see her like this, even more so that she'd caused her such anguish. She heard a door opening and saw Foxy peeking his head out. It looked like he was about to come out and comfort Bonnie. Chica was tempted to let him, but she held up a hand and silently shook her head. She had caused this and she would fix it.

Foxy cocked his head in an 'are you sure' kind of way and she nodded. He lingered for a moment, then closed the door but Chica could imagine he'd still be listening at it. Returning her attention to Bonnie, she got up and walked to her. She went to put a hand on her shoulder, but Bonnie flinched at her touch so Chica folded her hands and gazed at the back of her head.

"Bonnie," she began gently, "look at me." She didn't move. "Bonnie, please. Let me look at you properly. I want to see your face."

Again, Bonnie was reluctant so Chica, as gently as she could manage, took a hold of her arm. Again she flinched, but Chica tried again. This time, she let it settle though she tensed a little more. Chica turned her friend around to see her face tortured by self-loathing, her eyes unable to focus completely on Chica.

"I won't deny that your feelings are… complicated," she admitted. "But I know you don't hate me. I know you don't and I think you do too. You're not a bad person, Bon and you're certainly not pathetic. You do care. I've seen it."

"How do you figure that?" she muttered.

"Quite easily, Bonnie," she replied. "You have a very blunt way of making people feel better when they're upset. When I was miserable about David, you were there telling me how dumb I was for calling myself silly and foolish. After '87, we helped lessen each other's pain when Freddy needed moments for himself. You were willing to stand up to those guards that broke in and to Mike's mother. It feels sincere because I know you're being honest. Personally, I think there's a way you could try to make Valentine's Day better for yourself."

"Yeah? How?" She didn't sound sarcastic when she asked.

"It's something I've just thought of myself. Valentine's Day isn't only a celebration of romantic love. It's all kinds of love. The love you share for a good friend or a cherished family member, not just a romantic partner. I think that, this year especially, we need to show that love to everyone we care about and everyone close to us." She looked in the direction of the back room. " _Everyone_."

"What do you…?" Bonnie caught her meaning. "Cheeks, no way! The only thing I want her getting close to is my foot in her face!"

"Bonnie, I understand how you must feel about Golden. I feel the same in many ways. I know it's going to be difficult to accept her again, let alone trust her. But we have to try or things aren't going to get better. Please, tell me you understand that," she begged.

"How can I accept someone who betrayed us like that? And who's still hiding behind the excuse that it was something else that made her do it?!" she retorted. "She lied to us once, who's to say she isn't doing it again?! Even you have some feeling, I know it! You try to avoid her every chance you get!"

"I realise that and I also realise I need to change the way I approach her too," admitted Chica. "I'm going to try and talk to her tomorrow night. On my own," she added when Bonnie began to protest.

"Are you nuts?!" she spluttered. "I gotta go with you! Who knows what she might try to pull on you!"

"I appreciate you looking out for me, Bonnie but I have to do this by myself. I know you think I'm a little naïve, but I can take care of myself. Please, trust me," she beseeched. "Let me try."

Bonnie stopped and started a few more protests before she sighed in resignation.

"Alright. But if I think something's up, I'm coming in and pulling you out," she said firmly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Chica. "Thank you, Bonnie."

"It's cool and uh, sorry for losing it before," she muttered.

"It's fine. I've seen worse moments, like that time David and Foxy worked together to hide your guitar."

"Hey, a woman's gotta have a place where she draws the line," she remarked. "You take my dignity, that's fine I don't have much anyway. You can take my pride, whatever I can get that back. You take my guitar? That's when we have problems."

"I recall vividly," giggled Chica.

"Oh yeah," snickered Bonnie. "And Cheeks? I wanna say… thanks. You know, for the talk. I guess I needed that. I'm… well, I… I wanna say that I… I want to say… ugh, I hate doing this!"

"Bonnie, calm down, it's okay," assured Chica. "You don't have to say anything."

"No, no! You deserve this much from me, at least!" she insisted. She was quiet for a while until she spoke in a subdued tone. "You're… you're one of my best friends. I know I can be, well, difficult to deal with and I… I've not always been, you know, the best. But I'm gonna try, I really am. I'm… lucky to have someone… l-like you."

It may have been awkward. It may have had a lot of pauses, stammers, stops and starts. But Chica could feel the heartfelt nature of Bonnie's words and it made her lips grow into loving smile. She pulled her friend into a hug which caught Bonnie off-guard, but she returned it regardless. Chica looked up at her, right into her eyes which this time didn't look away and a small but genuine smile came to Bonnie's face too.

It was only there for about a few seconds before she looked away and started to squirm a little in Chica's embrace, but it still mattered a great deal to her. Chica let her go, letting Bonnie return to her comfort zone.

"Yeah, so, cool," she said in an attempt at being casual that made Chica laugh a little. "And hey, Cheeks? You doing okay? I know it's not the first time you've, you know, lucked out on a guy."

"Oh don't you worry, I'll be fine," she said brightly.

"You sure? Not even a little down?" she asked. "You know lending an ear is kinda my specialty, so if you need it."

"Thank you, Bonnie but I'll be quite alright," repeated Chica, which wasn't a complete lie.

"Yeah? Well, alright then," shrugged Bonnie. She glanced around, beckoned her in closer and said in a lower voice, "Just remember: it's his loss. Don't get hung up on it and don't let it drag you down. You don't deserve that."

"I won't," she promised.

"Good." She shuffled from foot to foot. "Man, all that heavy stuff really put a downer on things, huh?"

"It did rather. But I think I know what'll perk us both up." Chica stood up a few feet away from Bonnie and mimed like she was writing a letter. " _Dearest darlingest momsie and popsicle_."

"Oh wow!" Bonnie laughed. "How long's it been since we did this?"

"Quite a while." Chica gave a teasing smile. "I hope you still remember all the words."

Bonnie's response was to pick up her appropriate cue. " _My dear father_."

"Ah buh buh buh! If we're doing this, we're doing it properly. Now, on your feet." She tottered over to her and pulled her up. "And with the actions too. I want to see you in character."

"Come on, really?" protested Bonnie while she was jostled to an appropriate spot.

" _Real_ -ly," she sang, returning to her position. "Now, from the beginning. Ahem. _Dearest darlingest momsie and popsicle_."

After a moment, Bonnie replied. " _My dear father_." Together, they sang:

 _There's been some confusion over rooming here at Shiiiiiiiiz._

" _But of course I'll care for Nessa_ ," sang Bonnie.

" _But of course I'll riiiiiiiiiiise above it_!" trilled Chica.

 _For I know that's how you'd want me to respond, yes!_

It had been a while since they'd done this together, but that was the thing about a song. It was like seeing an old friend that you'd been out of touch with for a while. You needed to settle back into how things went since your last meeting, but once you did it was like you'd never forgotten at all and sometimes, it could even be improved. So it was for Bonnie and Chica as they became accustomed to the lyrics, the rhythm and the actions they had to accompany the words. Folded arms, hands on hips, dismissive hand gestures, pointing fingers. Yet despite the loathing expressed in the lyrics, the smiles never left their faces.

Foxy joined in too, running from the kitchen and jumping in when he got the chance. It wasn't just the two main characters expressing how much they loathed each other's presence, there were backing singers who expressed their support for the character Chica was playing, the Good Witch Galinda against Bonnie who portrayed the Wicked Witch Elphaba. It seemed like Foxy hadn't forgotten the words either, for he belted them out with great enthusiasm. Sometimes he'd miss a note and forget a couple of words, but he helped complete it. They finished, quite literally, on a high note.

… _loathing yoouuuuuuu- my whole life looooooooooooong!_

A smattering of clapping broke out from the small audience they'd garnered. Mike hung at the fringe of the east hall corridor (Chica tried to control the fluttering in her chest) and Freddy watched from the backstage door. Chica could have sworn she saw Golden peering out at them too.

They took bows and curtsies with Chica even better than before. If anything could have served to give her a boost of confidence for what she had in mind, this along with Bonnie's broad grin while she bowed and Foxy's hearty cheering certainly did the trick.

"Bravo, bravo!" cheered Freddy. "A marvellous display, truly! I don't suppose we could expect some sort of encore?"

"I would love to provide one, but I'm afraid we have some business to attend to," said Chica. "Come on, you two."

"Right behind you, Mama Chica," affirmed Bonnie.

"Aye aye, ma'am," saluted Foxy. "Right then, Chica. What do ye need us for?"

"Yeah, what's this all about, Cheeks?"

"Well," she began, "as you both no doubt have noticed, I've been rather neglectful of my usual Valentine's Day activities, something I intend to make up for the best I can over the next couple of days. But there's a lot I need to do and I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much bother to ask you both for some help."

"Say no more, lass. We be yer humble servants," bowed Foxy.

"Kiss ass," teased Bonnie. "But yeah, I guess that's cool. I may not like this time of year, but you do and I'm not gonna be a jerk and turn you down, so yeah. Tell me what you need."

"Wonderful! Thank you both!" She clapped her hands together. "Right, we're going to have to work quickly but I don't want things to be too rushed. As usual, I'm fine with working on the food but I wouldn't mind a little extra help in that regard. Bonnie-"

"Uh, pardon me interruptin', lass, but are ye sure it's wise ta be lettin' Bonnie anywhere near involvin' cookin'?" asked Foxy.

"Hey! What makes you think I can't handle it?" she challenged.

Foxy's response was to point at a section of wall in front of one of the ovens. Unlike relatively grimy whitewashed walls, this was blackened and singed. A circular shape of what was at one point a pizza was at its centre.

Bonnie's face flushed. "W-Well, yeah I guess I'm not the best at cooking. But it could have been worse. Right uh, Cheeks?"

"Um, yes Bonnie. I-It could have been better, yes," Chica said at once, giving Foxy a pointed look when he was about to speak up, "but it could have also been a lot worse. I mean, we put out the fire. Eventually." She cleared her throat. "Don't worry, I'm giving you some easy jobs this time. Just doing mixing or rolling out dough or taking things out of the oven and putting them in. Sound okay?"

"Sounds good," she nodded. "Like to see you do better, peg leg."

"That depends if there's still a kitchen after yer done, Bon," he remarked.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"Foxy," cut in Chica, steering him away from Bonnie towards the pens and paper, "I'd like you to prepare items for the games tomorrow. Firstly, make sure these baskets are filled with enough coupons in these baskets. Make sure the card hearts for these fictional couples are still together. If there's any missing, replicate them and laminate them. I'm sure Aaron won't mind us using the one in his office a few times if necessary. Maybe we could add some new ones too. Most of these should be fun, but there's nothing wrong with adding some new ones."

"Be happy ta, lass but in regards ta that last item, I'm fear that me knowledge-a such things is a lil' lackin'," he admitted. He rifled quickly through them. "I remember most-a these names, but so far as new ones are concerned, yer better off askin' someone else."

"I-I could help with that." They looked to see Mike looking unsure about coming in or leaving. "Th-The couples thing, I mean. I uh, I know a few fictional couples th-that kids would recognise. I-If I'm okay t-to help, that is."

"Well, that's grand, lad!" cheered Foxy. "Yer okay with him helpin' me, Chica?"

"O-Of course. I-I'm sorry I d-didn't ask, Mike but I thought… I thought you w-were busy with your Green Lantern thing," excused Chica.

"I'm done working on it for now. A-And Star Sapphire. The thing I w-was doing was a Star Sapphire, n-not a Green Lantern," he corrected.

"Oh. I see. Sorry, I d-didn't know," she added.

"It's fine. Didn't think you would." He sidled next to Foxy and took his own pencil and heart shaped paper, occasionally glancing over at her and pretending that he wasn't trying to.

Chica, on the other hand, went about her work with as much determination not to look at Mike as possible. Just when she started to worry that Mike's presence would disrupt her focus, something cold slapped the side of her cheek. She pressed her hand to it and sniffed the substance. Tomato sauce. A glance to her left revealed the culprit, holding a spoon.

"Bonnie," she said sternly, "none of that. We need to focus."

"Yes we do, Mama Chica," she replied. "Yes we do."

Bonnie winked at her and Chica let out a small laugh. It was nice not to be working on her own for a change.

* * *

The song Bonnie and Chica did a duet of was What Is This Feeling from the musical Wicked.

hickorydaisy: Yes, I am back. Pleased to be bringing joy back to your life.

Arc of Carona: Thank you.

MajorVidGamer: Thank you, I will see you there.

MurraySheWrote: I was hoping that would tickle you XD Yeah, that was kind of the idea behind that. No I'm sure you can't.

Lavender Hope: I'm happy to see that you're enjoying the new installment. Hope you enjoy the rest.

Auto-Buscus: Thank you, Auto, I shall. And no, it wouldn't be. I do enjoy my references XD

wnaruto616: What you believe and what will happen are not one and the same, my friend.

Zerothekitsune: I hope that chord didn't strike too deep.

TheGirlWhoShips: She is one of the focuses of this little special, yes. Hope you enjoy.

Kitsuneboy22: Happy to hear you think so.

Andrew115342: Pleased to provide a pleasing surprise.

Emerald2020: That's fine, Emerald and thank you, that means a lot.

Monkey999Boy: Thank you and ship who you please, even if it is wrong XD

Mobslayer: Pleased to have tickled your funny bone. Do enjoy and thank you.

I am lazy: Yes.

Fairyhaven13: I'm happy to know my stories had such an impact on you and don't worry, I don't think you will be disappointed with how things turn out. Thank you.


	3. Fatherly Advice

**Fatherly Advice**

He'd been hearing most of what had transpired that night. When things had descended into bickering once Golden had showed up, part of Mike wanted to try and step in. But the rest of him had been too tentative to and Golden had requested to him that she try to reconnect with the band on her own as best she could. Progress was definitely slow on that front, if it even existed at all.

Following the very awkward session with Chica, Mike carried on with his sketching whilst trying to dispel his fear and actually try to talk properly to Chica. But he just couldn't. What was he supposed to say to her? What would they end up talking about? Could they carry on a conversation? What if he said something stupid again like when he'd awkwardly complimented her? Had that driven her away? Why had he felt the need to say that?

Hence why Mike had remained in his chair, groaning and planting his face in his hands while shaking his head for being such an idiot.

He'd watched her when she emerged from the kitchen, going to talk first to Foxy, then Bonnie. She'd obviously been busy and he wasn't going to try to step in when Bonnie started to fly off the handle. He'd continued to observe and actually left the office when they'd started to sing. He didn't really get why, but they'd done it well.

Figuring he could at least manage to be in the same room as her along with the others, he thought that perhaps something could be established between them. Some shared jokes and conversation with Bonnie and Foxy helping ease things along. Instead, he'd mostly ended up talking to Foxy while Bonnie and Chica worked on the food and messed around with the ingredients. Though that was mainly Bonnie. There was some group talk but they all had their own separate tasks.

Mike was starting to feel a little desperate when 6AM was starting roll around. He still wanted to try and talk to Chica, but his mind continued to draw a blank. Even so, he managed to blurt out her name when she was already wearing her suit.

"Hm?" She tilted her head at him. "Yes, Mike? Is something wrong?"

"W-Well uh… I uh…" His eyes drifted around, lingering on anything but her. "H-Have a good day! W-Working t-t-today, I m-mean."

"Oh." Her tone was mostly neutral, with a faint hint of bemusement. "Thank you, Mike. You too."

So Mike was left with only his remaining job to unlock the doors for the day and a mixture of disappointment and anger at himself. He didn't leave straight away. He lingered, staring in the direction of the stage, the night's events repeating themselves in his head as he thought of a hundred different ways he could have done it differently.

He was so engrossed in doing so that he didn't register another person's presence until she came up and tapped him on the arm. He reacted with a rather high pitched yelp and whirled around in the direction of the contact.

"Whoa, stand down red alert, soldier," placated Susie. "Just letting you know you're relieved of duty."

"Oh um… s-sorry, Susie," he stammered. "I was uh… yeah…"

"Yeah," she agreed. "I've been yeah more than once myself. Recognised the symptoms the moment I saw it. Wanna tell me what it is?"

"I-It's nothing," he said. "Just uh thinking, that's a-all." He started towards the door. "I'll um, get out of your way, Susie. See you."

He barely heard her farewell before he was out the door. He glanced back to see her watching after him with an expression of confusion and he immediately started to feel bad for just leaving her like that. But he kept on walking. He didn't really feel like talking right now.

He dug his hands into his pockets and made tracks for home, his mind again returning to what was undoubtedly the cause of his confused thoughts and feelings.

Chica.

Ever since the events of a few days ago, he'd hoped this would be a point where things would start getting better. Things would be a little rough for Golden integrating herself back in, but he felt she would manage and the others would accept her. He and Chica had become distant following those events too, but they had agreed to be friends again and they'd be back to the way things had been.

But that hadn't happened. With the exception of Freddy, none of the others had really tried to accept Golden. Bonnie was the worst, responding to almost everything she did with hostility and suspicion. Foxy would try to mediate but then he'd be caught between loyalties and become frustrated. As for Chica, she would end up standing by and watching with frightened eyes. If she became involved, indirectly or otherwise, she would become tongue tied and distressed. Anything she'd try to say would be drowned out by louder voices until she left the room and shut herself away in the kitchen.

During those times, Mike had tried his hand at talking to her. But then he realised he had no idea of what to say other than rather weak words of comfort, saying that things would get better or they'd be okay. She'd agree, but he could tell she believed that about as much as he did.

After that, he didn't know how to continue because he wasn't sure what they could talk about. What did he know about her interests? Cooking? He wasn't exactly a master chef. Singing? Someone had told him he sounded like a dying cat once. Musicals? He hadn't really seen so many since they weren't something he naturally gravitated towards. After that, he kind of drew a blank and felt a little bad when he realised how little he seemed to know her. She didn't exactly have a normal upbringing, so there was little to relate to.

He didn't think she'd be interested or even knew about stuff he liked. He was an avid gamer while she was casual at best from what he'd seen. He'd tried mentioning some sci-fi and fantasy stuff he liked but best case, she'd only ever heard of it. Worst case, she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. So those conversations usually ended with him awkwardly excusing himself with her giving him only a faint, disappointed farewell.

Mike shook his head and groaned again. It seemed so much easier when they first met. The first time she'd stuttered a greeting in that gentle voice of hers before becoming accustomed to him. Doing that little twirl when he'd awkwardly complimented her dress, making it whirl around her slightly. The genuine interest she took in him, her beautiful singing while she worked, the joy she'd expressed upon him accepting her as a friend. The warmth of that embrace she'd given him when he did, the same warmth he felt under the mistletoe…

The groan was even louder now. It wasn't like that. They didn't know each other all that well, she wasn't even human! Not that that had anything to do with it. Did it? Of course it didn't, that hadn't stopped them being friends. But were they really friends? Was it even less than that or had there been something…?

He stopped that train of thought instantly by physically slamming his door shut when he got into his apartment. It had never been anything like that. It couldn't be. How could he even let himself feel that, after what happened last time? After what he'd done to her… and what she had done to him?

With his mind still in turmoil, Mike curled up into his covers and gradually fell into an uneasy sleep.

 _The harsh winds beat against his skin. The blazing sun bore down upon him. The ground beneath him was dead and barren. The only things coming from the earth were rocks that had been rubbed smooth by the gales and the sand they blew with them. Mike gazed around for anything that might stand out against the bleak landscape._

 _But there was nothing. No buildings. No roads. No cars. No people. No one and nothing for miles around. Except for him. Alone. No sound except the winds and the rustling of the sand._

 _Only… didn't sound like wind. Was it Mike's ears playing tricks or could he hear a literal whispering of the wind? In a voice he recognised._

"I do hope we'll be good friends, Mike. You're very kind."

" _Chica," he croaked._

 _He tried to tell where the wind was coming from so that he might follow it. But it was impossible to tell exactly where. It was like it changed direction every time and every time, it brought something else with it, in that gentle way she had done._

"I'm having a wonderful time so far. I mean, I'm with you. Of course I am."

"I don't want to see my favourite night-watchman upset."

"You're a wonderful guard and a good friend. One of the best we've had in a long time."

"Your father must be very proud of you… l-like I am."

"There's um… something else I've been meaning to s-say to you as well…"

 _Mike strained with all of his might, desperate to hear it. But it didn't come. The winds died down and he couldn't hear anything, not even the faintest of whispers. Nowhere to go. No one to help. He didn't even have those words now to bring him what little comfort they might. He collapsed to his knees, having lost all hope._

 _Until the winds began again. He jerked his head up, his hope rekindling. He waited to hear more. Maybe this time he could find out where it was coming from. Only it wasn't Chica's voice he could hear this time, but it was still a familiar voice. One that he hadn't heard for so long that he'd almost forgotten what it sounded like._

"You have no debts to me."

"I am your voice's biggest fan!"

"You saved my life."

"If you could turn back the clocks or change the past, I swear I'd love you forever."

 _Each time it sounded different. It was the same voice, yet it was the way it said these things. With different tones and inflections. But there was no mistaking who had said those words to him. Just like those faint whispers in the wind, he could faintly recall how he'd felt when he'd heard her say all of that to him. If only…_

 _He blinked slowly. What was that in the distance? It was rather hazy, but it looked like a person. For a moment, he wondered who. But when the winds whispered again, he could tell where they were coming from._ Who _was saying them._

"You're perfect to me."

"Mike, you worry too much."

"You're very merry welcome."

" _Lidiya…" He got to his feet. He began to stagger towards her like she was an oasis on the horizon. "Lidiya…"_

"I can't die without hugging you."

"Always look on the bright side, darling."

"I love you…"

 _Those last words really spurred Mike on. He was getting closer and closer with every step. He reached out with one hand, quickening his pace. Just a little further, he was so close._

"Mike."

 _It was just his name, yet the way she said it. It was so clear, like she was standing right next to him. She practically was. He could almost touch her! She had her back to him. She turned around._

" _Lidiya!" he cried as he finally reached her. "I…!"_

 _But whatever Mike may have said died in his throat when he saw he'd made a mistake. It wasn't Lidiya at all. It was Chica. She cocked her head curiously at him, but she still gave him a bright smile._

" _Oh," Mike uttered in a disappointed tone. "It's just you. I thought you were… someone else."_

 _As soon as the words left his mouth, Chica's expression changed. Mild bemusement turned to genuine hurt. Her smile left her face, replaced by a heartbroken grimace. Her eyes cast downward, losing their compassionate glimmer._

" _N-No, Chica," Mike began, trying to take it back, "I-I didn't mean… you're not… wait, where are you…?"_

 _She turned away from him and started to walk away. She didn't say anything. He didn't even hear her crying. Only her footsteps crunching on the dead earth._

" _Chica, wait!" he begged. He tried to make for her. "Please, y-you don't have to-!" But the wind began to pick up again. He tried to shield his eyes from the stinging sand, squinting at her walking into the storm without breaking her stride. "Wait, please! Don't go! Don't leave me alone! WAIT!"_

 _But she was gone from sight. Mike stared openly in the direction she left in, no longer caring about the sand biting at his skin as the storm raged around him. He collapsed to his knees again and waited for the desert to bury him here…_

 _Until he felt the ground beneath his feet vanish. It was like he started floating, completely weightless and free in a clear blue sky. He drifted through the air, rested on a fluffy cloud. Mike began to experience some degree of comfort. Mike could feel the tension leave him as he began relax to the soothing sound of…_

 _It was funny. It sounded like music…_

* * *

He awoke feeling groggy but otherwise still well rested. It took him a couple of minutes to realise that the music he heard in his dream was in the real world coming from the living room, specifically is TV. But he hadn't left it on. Unless…

Pulling on a dressing gown, he walked in to find his TV was on. It depicted a muscled, mature looking woman in a golden jacket sat on a stool with a spotlight shining on her. Or it would be gold without the black and white filter that added to the noir atmosphere she was exuding, along with the saxophone she was playing.

Mike smiled in bemusement. "You play the sax?"

"Sad to say I never had the chance to learn," admitted Golden, standing up and setting the instrument down. Both the stool and it faded into darkness while she returned to colour. "But apparently, smooth jazz is supposed to help one remain calm in the presence of extreme peril."

"According to Aperture Science?" asked Mike.

"While their methods might be unorthodox, you can't deny they've made a great deal of scientific contributions," countered Golden. "Besides, it seemed to have the intended effect on you." She smiled sympathetically. "You looked like you were having a rough sleep. I thought it may help."

"I think it did," nodded Mike. "Thanks, Goldie."

"You're welcome, my friend." She said those last words with a genuine tone. "At least I know I'm doing something right with someone I know."

"Right…" Mike knew what she was referring to, but was tentative to say anything further on the subject.

This didn't escape Golden. "Mike, you don't have to be reserved about it. I know I'm doing terribly in terms of making amends."

"It uh, could be better," he said.

"That's the understatement of the century," she remarked.

"Well, I don't know," sighed Mike. "You need to, well, talk to them or something."

"I've been trying, in case you haven't noticed," she retorted. "But they're not exactly receptive of me."

"Yeah, I know. But uh…" He paused, not wanting to seem accusing. "N-Never mind."

"Mike, I'm serious, don't hold back," she urged. "If you have something to say about me, please just say it. I'd rather hear it from you than anyone else."

"Fine." He took a moment before continuing, "Y-You're not really m-making things easier by uh, getting i-into arguments with uh… with Bon-"

"I know!" she snapped. "But I'm not going to let her stand there and make accusations at me for things I haven't even done or intend to do!"

"Right, right, sorry," Mike replied at once in a subdued voice.

"No, don't apologise," she sighed. "I shouldn't lose my temper with you, I'm sorry, Mike. I understand what you mean and I want to try, but it's really difficult for me. When you're trying to be friendly to someone with whom you've had negative thoughts and feelings about for a very long time, plus something that's been twisting those thoughts and feelings for their own purposes _and_ get nothing but hostility, scorn and fear, it's hard to keep a civil tone. For me, anyway. I want to reconnect with them. I only wish they'd give me a chance…"

"I know the feeling," murmured Mike. "I-Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head. "You've done more than enough, Mike. I have a feeling this leg of the journey has to be left up to me and the others. I appreciate the offer, though I gather you're still having your own personal problems. All with the day of love on the horizon."

Mike groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Ah, so for you Valentine's Day is Singles Awareness Day?" she asked.

"Pretty much," nodded Mike. "T-Too afraid to ask anyone and no one wanting to spend it with me. Well, except for…" He trailed off and looked down at his shoes.

"Lidiya," Golden finished.

He nodded again. "I-It wasn't like we were, y-you know, together. I-I mean _together_ together. She didn't want to get involved in romance after her… her boyfriend," he clarified. "She just didn't want either of us feeling miserable. W-We watched movies, played video games, ate chocolate, talked a lot. It was b-better than being alone. It was… it was fun."

"It sounds like it was," said Golden. "She really was something special, wasn't she?"

"I thought you knew," replied Mike, partly joking and partly bitter because of how she knew.

"There's a difference between seeing it and experiencing it," she said. "Can I ask, Mike? Do you still wish you could reclaim what you had with her?"

"More than anything," answered Mike at once. "But… I know that I shouldn't. That I should let go b-but… but I can't. I just can't."

"I know. It's hard to move on from something like that," she agreed. "I can't say much since I have no experience whatsoever in matters of romance, certainly not personally, but I would think the best way to do it is to find someone else."

Mike shook his head. "You said yourself that I don't know many women at the moment. I don't want to get mixed in with Susie like that before you say."

"I wasn't going to, since I've recently learned that you wouldn't be her type."

"W-What does that mean?" Goldie raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Wait, y-you mean she's…?" The AI nodded. "Oh. Right."

"Yep," she affirmed. "There's always Aaron's secretary. Alright, alright, that's a no," she placated after seeing Mike's face. "I take it that Chica is off the table as well?"

"W-Well… she… she uh…" Mike groaned and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "I… I don't know."

"What do you mean?" asked Golden. "Mike, tell me. Talk to me."

"I don't know!" Mike repeated and it was like a dam burst. "I honestly don't know! I thought things would be clearer now, but I'm even more confused! I told her I wanted to be friends with her but I don't even know if I actually wanted to be more than that if we still could be, i-if I ever did! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I was actually talking to her but I don't even know what to say! It feels like there's nothing we can talk about! I don't know what to do!"

He buried his face in his hands and let out a frustrated growl before falling back into the couch again. He slammed his fist into the pillow to let out a little more frustration. He took a couple of breaths to calm down while Golden watched, her expression unchanged and unfazed.

"Feel better?" she asked.

"A little," he admitted. "Sorry."

"You put up with far worse from me, my friend. A little venting is the least I owe you," she replied. "I wish I could tell you an easy answer or some sort of solution, but even I'm stuck for one. I don't know how to talk to Chica at the moment either or any of them. You're probably better off talking to someone else about it."

"But who? Who else could relate to this?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I can't say," she said sadly. "Look at us, Mike. We need more friends. Just too bad neither of us seem to be very adept at finding any other than ones that end up lumping it in with us."

Mike hummed a faint reply and tried to think. Who was there to talk to that could advise him? He didn't imagine Foxy was the romantic type. Bonnie would most likely laugh at him. Freddy perhaps but he didn't feel right going to him about it. Same with Mr Johnson. Maybe it was to do with how old they were or appeared to be and the fact neither of them could really relate to it. Plus one of them was his boss.

His thoughts settled on his dad. It seemed like his best bet. He'd been close with them as well. Come to think of it, hadn't Bonnie said something to him a while ago? About that Chica had been through heartbreak before over someone else? It was a long shot, but there was a possibility it could be…

"Goldie, do you mind giving me a few minutes? I've gotta make a call home," he said.

"Of course," she replied. "I'll go and watch things through the cameras at the restaurant while you are. You need me back, just give me the word."

A moment later the TV screen flickered back to black. Mike went to get his phone from his night stand, checked to see if Golden had come back then pulled up his home number. It was his mom who answered which Mike had somewhat hoped wouldn't be the case.

"Mike," she said rather curtly. "This is a bit of a surprise. How are you?"

"Good, good," he said. "You?"

"I'm… better," she answered. "I take it you are still working at Freddy's?"

"Uh yeah." It didn't sound like she disapproved of that.

"I see." A bit of silence. "And the performers? Are they… well?"

"Mostly, yeah. Things have been a little uh, rough recently b-but not like the Bite was," he added quickly. "Just uh, personal stuff. It'll b-be okay."

"I see," she said again. "Well, I hope they do. They're your friends after all."

It was faint, but Mike could hear the genuine softness in her voice when she said that. It was enough to make him smile a little and respond to those genuine feelings with his own.

"That's… great, mom. Really great."

"We only want you to be happy. Oh and we've sent you your present, you should get it by the 15th," she added.

"Present? Oh, right." With all that had been going on, Mike had almost forgotten it was his birthday coming up. "Thanks again, mom."

"Of course, son. You wouldn't expect us to forget your birthday, would you?" The brief silence was more comfortable now. "Is dad there?"

"Yes, he's currently hovering behind me waiting to take the phone off my hands," she remarked. "I'll put him on for you. Take care of yourself, Mike. I hope we'll see you soon under better circumstances. Perhaps your friends too. Maybe sometime after your birthday?"

"I hope so too. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, son," she returned sincerely. "Bye for now."

A couple of seconds of rustling was followed by the easy, friendly voice of his dad.

"Now that was really touching to see on my end," he said. "You'd better be wiping your eyes from the effects of the emotion that obviously had on you, Mike."

"Don't worry, I am," promised Mike with a laugh. "She's uh, coming around then?"

"Yeah, we've been talking more about it." He lowered his voice. "She's been asking me about them and what they're like more and more recently. She's still not fully comfortable with it, but she's way more willing about it now. We'll probably make another visit really soon so she can get to know everyone better herself."

"That sounds good, I'll let everyone know. Anything else happening where you are?"

"Not much, though I did get a call from my delightful brother," he said with no enthusiasm at all. "Remember Uncle Fritz?"

"Oh yeah," muttered Mike in much the same tone. "What did he want?"

"Just to brag to me about how things are changing for him and something really big has come up. I don't know, I kind of stopped listening at that point," he said dismissively. "He's made these sort of speeches before and I doubt anything's really changed. I only think he tells me this to try to convince himself."

"Yeah, I bet," agreed Mike.

"But enough about him. How are things over there?" he asked. "I'll bet you're already being taken along for the ride that is Chica in her Valentine's Day mood."

"A little," murmured Mike. "But things are, well, mostly okay. There's uh, been a big change recently. You remember when I uh, asked you about Golden? Well… she's back."

"Is she? And how did that come about?" Mike couldn't tell if that was asked out of interest or concern.

"Um… some stuff happened. I'll um, tell you another time b-but it's okay," he said quickly. "She and I are good friends actually. I-I'll introduce you sometime."

"Sounds like it'd be interesting to meet her. Mike, are you sure everything's okay with her?" he asked, definitely with concern this time. "Is there anything I should know about?"

"Uh…" Mike wanted to deflect the question but he couldn't be completely dishonest with his dad. "There… there were some uh rough patches. Still are i-in some ways. B-But it'll be okay. It will. I'll tell you some other time, I promise but um I… I wanted to ask you about something else."

His dad was quiet for a bit. "Well, alright. I'll trust you on this Mike. So, what did you want to ask your old man?" he went on in a lighter tone. "Need advice on how to pick up chicks? It's that time of year."

"Dad," Mike groaned. "Come on, this is serious."

"I know. Women are serious business, son. Do not let their seemingly fragile exteriors fool you or you'll be the one who looks like a fool," he advised. "But some girls like that so if it seems like they do, roll with it and make it look like you meant to do it."

"Thanks," he deadpanned. "A-Actually, I did w-want to… to ask you about a uh… a girl. A-About… Chica."

"Chica?" He sounded a little surprised by this. "What do you want to know about her?"

"Just uh… l-look, this is g-gonna sound a-a little weird to a-ask but uh… well…" He took a moment to gather himself. "D-Did uh… did Chica um… have a-a crush on you?"

"Aw geez," his dad murmured. "You too, huh?"

"W-What?!" Mike spluttered. Even though he had a suspicion, actually hearing about it was still a shock. "She actually d-did?!"

"Yep and a pretty big one too. I was just too dense to actually notice. I only really saw her as a friend and I was more focused on your mom when I first saw her too," he explained. "It never crossed my mind that she saw me in that way and by the time I knew… it was rough."

"H-How rough?" asked Mike.

"Very and I don't think even that sells it. I'll never forget the look on her face when I found out. Wasn't really the same for a while after. She distanced herself especially from me, didn't come out of the kitchen very much. She plastered on a smile when she had to be in the same room as me but it wasn't her usual one. It's the kind you have to cover up how much you're hurting. She didn't want me feeling guilty because she wanted me to be happy with your mom." He laughed but there wasn't any humour in it. "Even while she was nursing a broken heart, she still put others before herself. Not often you meet someone like that, huh?"

"Yeah," agreed Mike absently, feeling worse by the minute.

"It took a while before she started talking to me properly again. Even after that, I felt awful for putting someone like her through that. I know it wasn't really my fault, but you can't help but feel bad." He let out a long sigh. "Now she's fallen for you. Thinking back, it was a little obvious she had."

"I-It was?"

"Yeah, I could see the signs this time. When you slipped away, she was the only one who matched Foxy with how worried she was outwardly when we found out you'd gone and she was first to meet you when you came back. Something that I think you appreciated too," he added in a slightly teasing tone.

"Dad…" complained Mike.

"I'm only partly joking there, son. You think I don't know my own boy well enough to tell when he likes a girl? Look, I understand how must be feeling. To tell you the truth, one of the other reasons I didn't see her like that was because I thought it would be a little strange to have a relationship considering what she's like. But how unfair is that? That I wouldn't think to give her a second thought just because she isn't human? Am I right?"

Mike felt his insides squirm with even more guilt. "Y-Yeah…"

"Hey, don't feel guilty about it. Like I said, I can't judge if a part of you thinks that. But I'd say she's owed more than that. Fundamentally, she's a person. If we could be friends with them, why would it be strange to think that couldn't be something more? Just because she has feathers doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings, right?" he reasoned. "She likes you, you like her and it is that time of the year. If you think there's a chance for something, what's the harm in giving it a go? You never know 'til you try and I think you both owe it to yourselves to try. I've got your back if you do decide."

For a long while, Mike was quiet. His dad didn't try and press him for an answer or response which Mike was grateful for. When he finally did, it was in a subdued voice.

"Thanks, dad. I-Is it okay if I go? I… I need to think."

"Of course, son. Take care of yourself, okay? I love you."

"Love you too, dad. Bye."

He pressed the end call button and returned to his couch, wishing even more he could just sink away into it and leave the world behind forever.

* * *

Hickorydaisy: I hoped it would come off like that. You'll see her again soon, don't worry.

Lavender Hope: I don't even know Seussical the Musical and I'm rather ashamed that I've never heard it before now XD Again haven't heard of that one either but I will certainly look into it, thank you.

Fairyhaven13: No, it isn't. Issues like this don't go away over night or even several nights. There's a lot of bad blood that needs to be resolved between everyone first.

Arc of Carona: I believe I know which one you mean.

MajorVidGamer: The dreams of mice and men…

Emerald2020: I like to make it about little and big moments, it's all about the characters dude. Pleased you can enjoy that.

Snowfrost: Thank you. *eats it*

DnWolfy: The world is consumed by fog and humans are now Shadows. Welcome back. Don't worry about it being late, hope you enjoy the rest.

Auto-Buscus: For Bonnie, this whole Golden business does cut fairly deep as you will see. And yes, that is very true Auto and very sad.

Mobslayer: High praise indeed, sir. Thank you, that means a great deal.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: Yeah, I wanted this to show a good dynamic between the two of them after everything.  
It sucks to work past.  
Nope, Bonnie doesn't. She can find it hard to admit when she's wrong.  
Excellent that you do and thank you.


	4. Golden Opportunity

**Golden Moment**

Chica glimpsed Mike leaving for the reception area just as their curtain closed after yet another awkward exchange between them. The way he'd wished her a good day and not the others made her feel that he had meant to say something different, at the very least more than that. Yet he hadn't. Then again, neither had she.

It had been sweet of him to offer helping Foxy with preparing things for the themed games today but she knew that all of his attention hadn't been on that. She'd caught him looking in her direction and even when she wasn't looking, she could practically feel his eyes on her. Apart from some shared comments, the presence of Bonnie and Foxy hadn't done much to make conversation easier between them. In fact, Bonnie seemed determined not to let Mike distract her. Anytime Chica's attention diverted from what she was doing to Mike, her friend had done something like make it deliberately seem she was going to spill cake mixture or make a cheeky remark as she was known to.

Chica was thankful for that and even more thankful that with their help, she managed to get everything ready for today. The snacks and food were all prepared, the game items were ready to use and they'd even tidied up her decorating as well as adding a few more. She was at last getting back that feeling she always got at this time of year and it felt even better that it was a result of her putting her best foot forward, not just sitting alone and crying in the kitchen. Couple that with the talks she'd had with Bonnie and Foxy meant that the revelation she'd come to in the midst of her despair seemed even more tangible.

There was of course still some things that needed to be done. For one thing, she would like it if she and Mike were on more sociable footing again, but as much as she didn't want it to be this way, that wasn't her primary focus. That lay in the form of the being currently hidden away inside the spare parts room and part of it involved doing something she'd done her best to avoid doing these past few days: talking to her.

The very thought of it assaulted Chica with an array of unpleasant feelings. Fear. Trepidation. Anger. Despair. Sorrow. But she knew she had to do her best to move past them, to be strong. This wasn't about her, it was about all of them. She had to do this or nothing would change.

Still, she could worry about that this evening. For now, it was time to get down to business. She made little adjustments to her suit again and made certain Lil' Cupcake was in his proper spot on her plate.

"You look just fine, Chica," came Freddy's reassuring voice. "As does the restaurant. You all did a fine job with decoratin'."

"Thank you, Freddy," she replied.

"It's all good, boss," put in Bonnie. "Alright, let's knock 'em dead today huh?"

"Yes, I believe we shall," agreed Freddy. "Break a leg girls."

They fell into silence after this. As part of their camouflage, a group of supposed animatronic performers couldn't be seen or heard conversing between shows. They didn't want to risk a curious and brave enough child hear their favourite characters chatting away and peek through to join in. Chica settled in to the jerky movement they put on to imitate machines and waited for the steady sound of customers. Their shows didn't start until around the afternoon since there were few who would be inclined to visit a children's pizzeria for breakfast, so they had some time to kill.

Her excitement continued to mount as it always did when she could hear the sounds of families coming in along with their children. Every now and again, she also heard Foxy randomly surprising people by sticking his head out of Pirate Cove while also helping build intrigue for the floor show.

"Aye yer in fer a real treat taday, me lil' mateys!" he told them. "Me friends and I have got ourselves a few surprises lined up fer ye. Spent all last night gettin' 'em ready, just ye wait!"

Chica smiled under her mask. How strange it was to think that only about a month or so ago, he was still stewing away in his Cove. She still did a slight double take whenever she pressed a hand to her stomach where her scar used to be. It really hadn't been the same without him. Really if it was possible that he could reintegrate himself after so many years following what he'd done, surely the same was possible for Golden. She would try to bear that in mind tonight.

After what seemed like forever, the automated announcer informed everyone that it was five minutes until curtain up. Practically buzzing with anticipation not unlike the crowd they could hear assembling outside, Chica bristled and had to suppress a squeal. Freddy gave her a pat on the shoulder and she could see the encouraging smile behind his eyes. She did her best to return it as the mask would allow and offered the same to Bonnie, who winked.

"And here they are, boys and girls!" announced the recorded voice. "Put your hands together for the Fazband!"

The curtain rose and Chica practically beamed at the sight of their audience cheering their arrival as they stepped forward into the limelight as one. It was a good mix among the audience today, about a dozen children with slightly more girls than boys. Some were new faces, others were regulars like Aaron's daughter Annie and a boy called Shaun O'Brien. She hadn't seen this young boy for a long while she realised and noted as well there appeared to be no sign of his sister Katie. She hoped the little dears were okay.

"Hey there everybody!" greeted Freddy. "Wow, look at all of you!"

"Yeah, it's so great you came here to see _me_ perform," said Bonnie, playing a strum on her guitar.

"Ahem. I think you're forgetting something, Bonnie?" pointed out Chica.

"Huh?" Bonnie pretended to think for a moment. "Gotcha! And to dig in to a great slice of pizza! Right?" She looked to Chica, who only shook her head. "Oh and to see these guys perform as well, I guess."

That got a few giggles.

"Now, things are goin' to be different from our usual show today and tomorrow which, I'm sure you've all figured out from all the decorations, is a special day," said Freddy.

"I don't know, Freddy. I don't think they have figured it out." Some of them began to insist to the contrary to Bonnie. "What, you have? No way! Come on, stop messing with me!" They only grew louder. "Oh yeah? You guys are serious? So what day is it tomorrow?"

Chica took her cue as they all chorused the response. "That's right! It's Valentine's Day!" She swung her basket, showering them with paper confetti. "My favourite time of the year and because it is, I've got some fun games for us all to play!"

"A moment there, me fine feathered friend!" called Foxy, striding out of the Cove with a piece of paper in hand. "Before ya do, I wanted ta share this with ya all! This is a lil' somethin' I've written in dedication ta me best friend, Bonnie!"

"Aw, well isn't that sweet?" remarked Freddy.

"Huh?" Bonnie was caught off guard by this. "Well uh, sure you do. It better not be too mushy, alright?"

"Go on then, Foxy. Show us what you've got!" prompted Chica.

Foxy grinned and held out the paper before him like he was a messenger in a royal court, reading it in a sickly sweet tone that made Bonnie cringe.

 _Ta my best friend  
We've been tagether so long,  
Our friendship 'tis so strong!  
Every moment we share, I think  
Blimey, where did I go wrong?_

He punctuated the last part with a hearty laugh that the children echoed. Far from being offended however, Bonnie actually seemed relieved. Perhaps because it hadn't turned out as she feared it would.

"Ha! Good one!" she barked. "And you know what? I just came up with one now for you, _buddy_." She cleared her throat and in a similar tone to Foxy, recited:

 _Roses are red  
Bruises are blue  
Wanna find out?  
I'll save some for you!_

She revelled in the reaction that produced as did Foxy.

"Argh! Never change, long ears!" he wished.

"Right back at you, peg leg."

"Theirs is certainly a unique friendship," said Chica.

"Quite so," agreed Freddy. "Now, Chica, I believe you have some games for us?"

"I do indeed!" sang Chica. "Alright, everyone who wants to play, come here and I'll give you all one of these." She pulled out the hearts Mike and Foxy prepared the night before.

The game was a fun one for children who might not necessarily know each other and gave them a chance to get mingling. Each one had the name of one half of a fictional couple on their backs and at Chica's signal, they all started to mingle to find their 'partner' only being allowed to answer questions with yes or no. Not necessarily romantic pairings, but pairs they would recognise.

It all went rather well as she watched a boy with Mickey Mouse on his back be gradually paired with Minnie, Aladdin with Jasmine, Cinderella with Prince Charming. There were ones like Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry. However, she ended up being stumped by a few pairings she didn't recognise such as Han Solo and Princess Leia, Spider-Man and Mary Jane, Hiccup and Toothless, Shrek and Donkey. In particular, there was one Annie had with another girl whose name she caught as Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry, did I give you a boy's name by mistake?" Chica asked her.

"No, it's right, Chica," she answered brightly. "Look, we both match!"

They turned around to reveal the names Elsa and Anna.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I don't really know that one," she admitted. "What are they from?"

" _Frozen_ , of course! They're sisters," replied Annie like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't you like Disney, Chica?"

Chica bopped her on the nose. "Annie, you know that I do. I'm just not familiar with that one. I'm a little out of touch with my Disney knowledge at the moment."

"Aw. You should really see it! You'd love it!" enthused Annie as the two of them began singing what she assumed was a song from the film.

She laughed at their display, wandering if this one had been Mike's handiwork, along with some others that had her confused. However, she was brought out of her musings by Annie's distressed cry. Shaun had come over and shoved her hard.

"Hey! What was that for?" she protested.

"I hate that stupid song!" he complained. "Everyone keeps singing it and it's really bugging me!"

"That was still a mean thing to do to her," defended Elizabeth. "Say sorry!"

"You can't tell me what to do!" he snapped back.

"Hey, Shaun!" called Bonnie sternly, shaking her head. "Not cool, little man. Tell Annie you're sorry."

He glared at Bonnie, then at Annie before muttering a very insincere 'sorry' and skulking off. As Chica made sure Annie was okay, she motioned to Bonnie to keep an eye on Shaun. He and his sister weren't exactly a model standard of good behaviour and Bonnie was usually the best at keeping them in line. Her friend responded with a wink.

The games continued with a catching game with love heart shaped beanies. Arranged in a circle, they started off with one as they tossed it around to each other to get used to it. Once they did, another bag would be added to the mix and step things up to see how long they could keep it going. The game was put on temporary hold when Foxy suddenly darted into the circle and swiped the bags in mid-air.

"Ha har!" he guffawed, holding them aloft. "This be my bootie now!"

"Foxy, you rascal!" Freddy accused. "You give those back at once!"

"I don't think so!" He waved them mockingly. "If ya want 'em, ye'll have ta catch me!"

With that, he darted off with a small following of kids chasing him, narrowly avoiding one of the harrowed waiters passing by. He led them on a merry chase for quite a while until he deliberately slowed down and let them catch him though the momentum the group was running at was enough to tackle him to the ground. However, they were all picked up by someone else who ended up running off with them.

"Shaun! The chasing is over, now put those down!" ordered Freddy.

"No! My turn now!" laughed Shaun as he took off.

He didn't get very far before Foxy caught him after he'd recovered from his fall. He didn't physically grab him because that was something that they were prohibited from unless the circumstances were extreme. But he was quick enough to cut off any routes of escape.

"Get out… of my way, you… dumb fox!" he panted.

"Alright, lad, that's enough now," said Foxy in a calm, but firm manner. "Put 'em down."

"How come… you could do it… and I can't?"

"Because I said so. Now, one more time," he repeated, his voice becoming a growl, "drop 'em."

A flicker of fear crossed Shaun's face, but he did as he was told though not happily. His behaviour continued like that throughout the day. When the catching resumed, he would deliberately push kids next to him so they missed it until they had to ban him from playing. During a relay race which involved the use of mittens to carry a small heart, he either tried to cheat and use his hands or again interfere with others trying to run the race. No matter how many times they caught him at it, he wouldn't behave.

It struck Chica as rather strange. Yes, he was rather rambunctious normally but never this bad. He seemed so angry about something and she again noted the lack of his sister.

Eventually, it got to the point where his mother had to pull him aside into the reception area. Still rather curious about what had gotten him so riled, Chica managed to make herself scarce while Bonnie and Freddy started sing a few song selections for everyone. She peered into the entrance hall to see Shaun scowling at his mother who was reprimanding him for his behaviour.

"Shaun, you're spoiling things for the others. Do you really think that's fair?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Shaun!" she snapped. "I will not have you saying things like that!"

"What does it matter?" he cried. "It's not the same without her!"

"I know." His mother's tone lost its hardness, her voice trembling slightly. "I understand you're worried about Katie, son. But she'll come back, you'll see."

"You don't know that! Stop saying that!" he threw back at her. "If she was going to come back, she would have! Why isn't she back right now?! Why?!"

"I… I don't know," she murmured. "Oh Shaun, I'm sorry…"

She pulled her son into a close embrace. He buried his head in her shoulder, muffling the sobs that as they held each other like they'd never let go. In a sight that made her heart break to see, faint tears were trickling down his mother's face too.

"I m-miss her, m-mum. I m-m-miss her…"

"I know, son, I know. So do I…"

Chica almost couldn't bear to watch it. She'd known Katie too. She and her brother were quite a rambunctious pair, always trying to clamber up onto the stage before their mother pulled them away. Not always the best behaved of children, but she could tell they were close. They were almost always together, practically excluding any other company. If something had happened to her…

She approached them carefully. She didn't know if she would be able to help, but if there were two things Chica couldn't stand to see, it was broken families and crying children. The former she'd had too much experience with. Perhaps that was what compelled her.

Mrs O'Malley looked up at her as she came. Surprise flickered across her face, followed by something akin to comfort. Like she'd just seen an old friend. It was gratifying to find these people who seemed to see beyond the suit she wore, especially if it was an adult. Normally she'd try to avoid dealing with them, but she was prepared to make this an exception.

"I couldn't help but overhear. Mrs O'Malley, words can't begin to express how sorry I am to hear about this," she said sincerely.

She gave Chica a grateful smile. She pulled away from her son, her hands still gripping his shoulders and nodded up to Chica. She knelt down to his level, close enough to see his tear stricken face and the wet mucus that was building up in his nose.

"Hello, Shaun. It's been a while since I've seen you. I've missed you, you know," she said brightly.

"No you h-haven't!" he dismissed. "Y-You've got other kids to deal with! I-I'm not special…!"

"Oh well now that is simply untrue," she replied. "You and your sister come and visit us a lot. I like to think of you as my friends and I never forget my friends. Don't you think we're friends, Shaun?"

"Don't lie to me! You think w-we're naughty and b-bad!"

"Well…" Chica thought carefully about her next words, "you can certainly get a little… overly active. But I don't think you're bad."

"Yeah?" Though he sounded cynical, she could detect a faint trace of hope. "Prove it."

Chica took another few moments to think. "Well, I can definitely recall one time when you and your sister were being a little too rough and she ended up hurting herself. Got a very badly scraped knee if I remember. I went and got the first aid box straight away, cleaned it up and gave it a nice bandage. In all that time, you never strayed from her side. You were right there to make sure she was alright. You didn't want me touching her at first in case I made it worse. You care a lot about Katie, Shaun. I think the biggest reason you end up doing naughty things with her is because you like to make her smile and laugh. Am I right?"

Shaun didn't reply. He looked down at the floor but she could make out a barely perceptible nod from him.

"I thought so. I know what that means, Shaun. To care about someone like that, to make sure they're never sad and they're always smiling and happy. We just do it in different ways. It doesn't always make it okay though, especially when you do rough things to other children," she added sternly. "You can't make someone else feel bad just because you're feeling bad or your sister is. Is that another reason why you were being like that today?"

Another barely perceptible nod.

"I see. Look up at me, Shaun." He continued staring at the floor. "Come on, look up. Please?" Rather reluctantly, he did. "Thank you. I know how that feels too. I've lost members of my family too, like Foxy. He was gone for a very long time before he came back. Someone else has too and she was away for even longer."

"Huh? Who?" he asked.

"Well, you might meet her one of these days. But as I said, I know it feels horrible to lose someone close like that. You miss them a lot and you wish they would come back. Sometimes, you can wait for so long that you're ready to give up." She realised her voice was trembling slightly and took a couple of breaths. "But you can't give up hope. I'm sure there's people out looking for Katie, right?"

"We've told the police," his mother said. "They're… doing all they can."

"There you go then. I'm sure they'll find her and bring her home in no time at all. Until then, you can't give up on her and you can't use her as an excuse to behave like you have been. You understand?"

He was quiet for a bit. "I guess…"

"Good." She stood back up again. "Now, when you're ready, you can come back and join the games. I hope you can behave yourself this time or else I'm sure your mother will take you straight home if not."

As she walked back in, she had another idea. Catching the eye of Aaron's daughter, she beckoned her over.

"Annie, I need you to do me a big favour. Can you look out for Shaun for me?"

"Do I have to?" she asked unenthusiastically. "He always pulls my hair and puts gross stuff down my neck. He shoved me for singing!"

"I know, but he's lost his sister and I think he needs a friend right now. You don't have to if you really don't want to, but maybe you can help him and who knows, maybe he won't be so bad if you do," she said hopefully.

"Well…" Annie considered this. "If you think it'll help, I'll try."

"Thank you, Annie," Chica said sincerely. "You're a good girl."

"Thanks, Chica. I try and do the same for daddy too. He's been really bothered about something recently. I can tell," she said sadly.

"Well, I hope he doesn't get bothered by it for much longer," wished Chica. "But I know he can count on you, just like I can."

She smiled at that, then scampered off to re-join the games. Chica was about to until Mrs. O'Malley came back with her son in tow.

"I'm going to take him home. It's for the best." She stood awkwardly. "Um, thank you. For speaking to him."

Chica imagined it must be strange for her thanking what was to her a machine. She told herself not to take it personally.

"It was my pleasure, ma'am. I hope they find Katie soon, Mrs O'Malley," Chica said to her.

"So do I," she murmured. "And the others too…"

"Others?" Chica gasped. "There are more besides Katie?"

Her only answer was a forlorn expression before she left. Shaun kept his head down, but he briefly glanced up at Chica who did her best to smile at him through the suit. All the while she began to hope those children would be found and returned home. To Chica, the thought of anyone wanting to hurt a child in any way was inconceivable.

* * *

Chica raised her hand to knock on the backstage door. Then lowered it again. She fiddled with it for a bit. Then she started to bring it up. Then it drooped back to her side. She tottered around near the door, furtively glancing at it like it was about to attack her. She approached it. She thought about knocking. But she just stared at it, listening to the faintly muffled voices on the other side.

She cursed herself for being such a coward. She knew she had to do this. She knew it was the only thing that would help. But that didn't stop her being terrified at what she'd find on the other side. What would happen if she knocked on that door. Freddy was in there, yes. But he wasn't the only one. _She_ was there too.

Throughout the day, Golden had been there as a steadily growing presence in her mind. Every time she looked at the backstage door, it was with the knowledge that she was waiting just beyond it, blanketed in the dark. With her knowledge of Golden's abilities, she would glance at the cameras and wonder if perhaps she was watching them through the lens. Watching Chica. Did she perhaps know now what she intended to do, maybe heard her saying it to Bonnie last night?

Now, here she stood and a million different thoughts flashed in her head. What would Golden say? How would she act? Would she be welcoming? Friendly? Or would it be bitter and reclusive, cynical and pessimistic? Or perhaps even apathetic and listless, beyond any hope at all? In the face of any of that, what could Chica do? What could _she_ say? Was there really a chance to bridge a new connection or had the foundations long since withered away? Was there any point to doing this? It would be so much easier to just retreat to the kitchen, to hide away and try not to think about this at all. Inadvertently, her feet and her mind started to do just that.

But through some force of will, she stopped. She turned. She stared the door down, like it had issued a silent challenge. No, she thought defiantly. No more hiding. She would do what had to be done. For the good of everyone. She repeated that like a mantra in her head as she strode to the door and finally knocked.

The sound echoed dimly. The voices fell silent. Footsteps came closer. She immediately regretted doing that. She began to panic. Her head darted around. She considered quickly fleeing to her sanctuary.

Until Freddy opened the door and she felt some of her worry melt away in the presence of his warm smile.

"Why, Chica. What an unexpected surprise," he said happily. "What brings you here tonight?"

"H-Hello, Freddy," she greeted quietly. "I um… I-I wanted to speak to you. A-And to… to Golden…"

"Really?" There was surprise in his voice, but she couldn't shake the thought that he was somehow expecting this. Or someone had told him to expect this. "Well, she'll be happy to have some new yet familiar company. Come on in."

She stepped through into the dimly lit, oily smelling room. It was the same as it always was but for one change, namely the absence of Arnie the Endoskeleton. Well, perhaps absence wasn't the right word since his suited endoskeleton looked up at her entry with tiny white pinprick eyes.

Freddy closed the door and Chica's eyes swiftly adjusted to the dark. Golden stared at her for a long, agonising moment. Thanks to the animatronic she used, it was impossible to tell what she might be thinking. Even her eyes were incapable of showing any expression. It was honestly a little eerie. Now she could see why some people were unnerved by their suits.

"Chica." Her tone was level, controlled yet with a slight hint of… something more. "Good to see you."

"Y-Yes. Um, thank you. Y-You too," she muttered. The silence settled like a thick fog until Freddy's voice cut through it.

"Please, take a seat," he offered. "We were in the middle of a little discussion before you joined us."

"R-Really? What about?" she asked, taking another chair.

"We were discussin' the works of H.P Lovecraft or rather the ideas he conveyed," answered Freddy. "Don't suppose there's any chance you know who that is?"

She shook her head. "Sorry. Um… wh-who is he then?"

"He was a writer in the early twentieth century," replied Golden. "He pioneered a series of short stories that explored the ideas of forbidden knowledge, that there are some things in this world we're not meant to know and that to even begin to try and understand them is to be driven mad because the human mind simply cannot comprehend their magnitude."

"Oh. That sounds… uh… interesting," she said, honestly unsure what to make of that.

"We were debatin' on the basis of that perspective," went on Freddy. "My stance on it is that there are some things that we're probably better off not knowin'."

"And I say that my brother is being far too cautious on the matter," countered Golden. "One of the most fundamental aspects of humanity has been the ability to learn and grow. It's utterly ridiculous to try and hold back that kind of thing."

"I'm not sayin' that humanity hasn't made great strides in such fields. I'm sayin' that sometimes, not everythin' that comes from that is necessarily good. Sometimes new discoveries bring about great turmoil in their wake, like the atomic bomb for example," he proposed.

"But its things like that that challenge preconceptions and necessarily so. If not, everyone would still think that the world is flat, be treating disease by slicing open veins and be burning old ladies as witches just because they've got a wart. Being able to learn and change is important. I mean, look at us, we're a prime example of the result of such learning."

"Yet there are some things that are perhaps capable of pushing the envelope too far. Again as you say, look at us. We are a great example of how much mankind has evolved but what about other questions we synthetics raise?" he argued. "How far can we be considered human when almost everything about us is not typically human, from how we were born to how we were educated to our physical traits and so forth?"

"Um…" They both looked at Chica. "I don't understand, Freddy. A-Are you saying that our birth w-was a… a bad thing?"

"Of course not, Chica," he said at once. "I was merely using us as an example of how we challenge established preconceptions of very big questions."

"You mean… the idea o-of what it is to be human?" she clarified.

"Precisely," he nodded. "Why, how do you see it?"

"I uh… I'm not s-sure if I can really contribute," she murmured.

"Chica, you have thoughts and ideas of your own. Of course you can contribute," proffered Golden. "You can tell us."

"O-Okay. Well…" She thought carefully about her answer. "I-I think that even though we're n-not human in a uh, a normal way, w-we also are. I mean, w-we have thoughts and feelings even if we're synthetic. L-Like Pinocchio. That's w-what I think anyway…"

"Hmm." Freddy nodded. "A good answer, Chica. It's not our bodies, its our hearts that make us human."

"Just the sort of thing I thought you would say," noted Golden.

"Really?" That triggered a memory of something similar Golden had said to her not too long ago. "Not too… childish then?"

The heavy silence returned following that. That had come out more bitter than she had intended and Chica began to feel guilty, but she waived those feelings away. She knew she shouldn't feel bad. Golden had said that to her with the intention of hurting her. Chica knew she could be soft but even she wasn't willing to completely ignore that.

Both Golden and Freddy seemed to recognise that for the latter didn't admonish her for saying that, nor did the former protest to it. Chica did her best to hold her gaze without it flickering away, waiting for her response. It came in the form of a question.

"Why did you come here tonight, Chica?"

There was no trace of sarcasm or any direct challenge. Only genuine curiosity. Chica was quiet for a while before she answered.

"Because… I know we've all been, well, distant with you. Including me. But it didn't used to be like that. We… we used to h-have something special together, n-not just as teacher and students. We were… like a family. Over the years though… w-we started to fall apart. First you, then Foxy, then our friend David. Even Freddy, Bonnie and I could feel the strains sometimes after '87. Not being able to walk among the children anymore, seeing the same fear others had of Foxy directed at us. Our only home, on its last legs..." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But now things have started to come together again. The restaurant is picking up again. We have Mike with us, Foxy is back and even you're back too. I don't expect us to have what we did all those years ago but we can still try to make something new. We can't stay stuck in the past forever, we have to move forward. R-Right?"

She looked at Freddy who was beaming at her proudly. Golden gazed at her for a long while. Though her face couldn't express what she was feeling, her voice managed to instead.

"And to think, I was the one who called you naive." It was heavy with repent. "I'm sorry for that, Chica. Your optimism is far from childish. It's always been one of your best qualities, even in your developmental stage."

"Really?"

"Really." A nostalgic tone came to her voice. "Whenever you or any of the others were brought down by a mistake, you'd be among the first to try and turn it around. So many hopes and dreams for when you finally got your body. I'm sorry so many of them didn't turn out as you hoped."

"That's okay. We get by just fine, even better recently and I hope it'll continue to be that way for a while," she wished.

"You see? If you are knocked down, it's only for a moment until you're back up again," said Golden warmly.

"It helps when I have others who are willing to help me up." She shared a smile with Freddy. "I want to try and do the same for you, Golden. I actually have something in mind for us to do tomorrow night, once I get everything ready tonight. I hope it's really going to give us a chance to properly reconnect again and have a little bit of fun."

"Oh really?" Freddy asked, intrigued. "And what manner of activity might this be, may I ask?"

"Uh-uh-uh," she replied, shaking her head and wagging a finger. "I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I hope everyone will enjoy it."

"Well, now I simply must participate if only to find out what it is," said Freddy.

"You have my interest piqued at any rate," admitted Golden. "I'll give whatever you have in mind a go as long as everyone else abides by the same rule."

"They will," said Chica, knowing who exactly she was referring to in that regard. "Thank you, Golden. A-And um… I'm sorry that you uh… you didn't get a, you know, a body. Sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for, Chica. I know it seems very unlikely but maybe I should take a leaf out of your book and hope that perhaps somewhere down the line…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Still, this will manage just fine for now. And if I can't hope for a synthetic body, then I'd at least settle for somehow squeezing back into the show?"

"Give it time and I'm sure we'd be happy to have you again. What did you have in mind if you did?" asked Chica.

"Actually, this is something Freddy and I were talking about just yesterday. I know I won't be able to come back as a singer again, since that position is doubly filled and I don't fancy myself an instrument sort of performer. So I sat and pondered what other kind of position would give me a spot on the stage, not necessarily in a band, that kids enjoy and I could wear a top hat. After ruling out lion tamer and moustache twirling villain, it hit me. I will become…" She stood up and thrust a finger dramatically. "The Great Goldie! Magician Extraordinaire!"

"A most fitting role, I think you'll agree," said Freddy.

"Hmm…" Chica found she didn't have a hard time imagining that. "Yes, I can actually see that. You always did have a flair for the dramatic while you were training us."

"Oh yes indeed," nodded Freddy. "Appearin' and disappearin' without warnin', changin' the world around you with a snap of your fingers. You could certainly be the centre of attention if you wanted to be."

"My thoughts exactly. I realise that the dexterity for sleight of hand doesn't come easily with these," she admitted, waggling her suit fingers, "but a good showman must adapt to her circumstances and I shall do just that. If I actually get the chance to."

"You will dear sister, given time," said Freddy. "After what Chica shows us what she has planned for tomorrow, I'm certain you will be one step closer. Speakin' of which, don't suppose you need any help gettin' that ready?"

"No, I'll be fine on my own. Nice try to find out the secret though," she added.

"Was it so obvious?" he chuckled. "I'm proud of you, Chica. I really am."

"Thank you, Freddy." She stood up to go. "Right, I'd better get on with it. It was good to talk to you again, Golden."

"You too, Chica," she said sincerely. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow night."

Chica left backstage feeling even more that her idea actually had a chance of working. As she left, she happened to catch a bit of a discussion with Foxy, Bonnie and Mike, the latter explaining something to them.

"… been a while since we saw the Star Wars films, lad," Foxy was saying. "We were shown 'em while were developin', but we didn't even realise they were still goin'."

"Oh yeah, of course. They were really popular and made a lot of money, they'd be crazy not to do anymore," replied Mike. "But the prequels really aren't worth seeing."

"Come on, how bad could they be?" asked Bonnie. "I mean, its Star Wars! It's a movie about spaceships, laser guns and wizards with magical powers. How do you screw that up?"

"I don't know, but they did," muttered Mike.

"Aye and the story about how Darth Vader came ta be is somethin' I'd be interested ta see," confessed Foxy. "I'd be curious ta see what made an apparently great Jedi fall ta evil like that."

"That's what everyone else thought too. I guess you do need to see it to believe it," shrugged Mike.

"Hey now, by my reckonin', ya can never beat a good lightsabre duel. I always wanted one-a those things. Can ya imagine it?" He jumped back and pulled out his wooden sword whilst making a 'schwoom' noise. "When I left ye I was, I was a learner! Now I'm the master!"

"Only a master of evil, Darth!" rebutted Mike.

"You're both masters of being dorks," remarked Bonnie. "Yo Cheeks, wanna get in on this? Or just sit back and laugh at it, either's good."

Chica shook her head. "I'm sorry, not tonight. I'm going to be busy in the kitchen working on something for us all tomorrow."

"You uh need any help?" asked Mike.

"No, thank you, Mike. I want it to be a lovely surprise for you all," she said. "You all have fun."

She caught a flicker of disappointment across his face as she headed into the kitchen, gathering everything she needed. She felt a little bad for saying no, but it would all be worth it when her plan came together. It would work.

Wouldn't it?

* * *

Arc of Carona: Yes indeed. And I believe the expression is pieces.

hickorydaisy: Elizabeth and Sid. Don't worry about it.

MajorVidGamer: We shall see if your hopes come to fruition.

Fairyhaven13: Mike can have a hard time facing hard truths. He is a bit clueless to say the least.

MurraySheWrote: A rubix cube where the colours keep randomly shuffling every few seconds.  
No of course you don't why would you?

Emerald2020: Thank you.

DnWolfy: It's not an easy thing to deal with. He doesn't even have a Priestess arcana persona equipped.

Lord Zalgo: Pleased to provide, my lord.

Lavender Hope: Oh you can guess, I just won't confirm if you're right or not.  
Mike's not really one of those people who thinks at once of a sensible solution.  
Don't apologise, I relish reading a long review.

Monkey999Boy: Leave that for the anime, I'll not have you soiling my characters with such a trope.

Auto-Buscus: It's not easy dealing with stuff like this  
Everyone's been kind of wrapped up in recent events. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of things.  
He's spoken in the previous chapter I'll have you know.  
Very true indeed.


	5. Calmly Looking Susie

**Calmly Looking Susie**

Mike ended up lingering again in the reception area. Once again, Chica was at the forefront of his thoughts as he stared at the stage. What had made her go backstage? Was it to speak with Freddy or Goldie? If it was Goldie, what had transpired between them? Had Chica asked about him? Had Goldie told her anything about him if she did? Had perhaps that had been why she had avoided the company of him and the others?

Part of Mike knew that it was dumb of him to be thinking like this, but especially after his talk with his dad he dreaded her learning anything that might make their relationship worse than it already was.

That night, he'd meant to catch her so they could maybe have a proper talk. However he was again overtaken with hesitance and fear so by the time he'd left the office, she'd already gone backstage. In the hope he may be able to get her in a more comfortable environment and so he wasn't pacing about the office alone, he joined in with Bonnie and Foxy. However his hopes were once more dashed when Chica spent the rest of the evening in the kitchen on the basis of preparing a surprise for them all tonight.

Mike mentally kicked himself. Why was it so hard just to talk to her? Why did he have to be such a coward? He turned around to leave but stopped in his tracks when he saw a rather irritated-looking Susie standing behind him.

"So are you hanging around just to apologise to me?" she said testily.

"Uh… a-apologise?" repeated Mike.

She sighed. "Mike, don't seriously act like you don't know. I get you've got a lot of stuff on your mind right now, but did you have to blow me off yesterday like you did?"

"Oh." Thinking back, Mike realised she was right. "S-Susie, I'm really, r-really sorry about that. You're r-right, I had a uh, a lot on my mind but uh… sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

She regarded him for a while with a stern expression, but in the end it softened.

"Apology accepted. Are things any better for you or are you still feeling 'yeah'?" she asked.

"Um… the second one," admitted Mike. "B-But it's fine, I'll deal with it. I-I'll see you later, Susie."

"Hold on a minute," she said before he could set off. "Mike, I know we don't know each other as well as I'd like, but I've seen that expression enough times to know that you're dealing with something you shouldn't be trying to handle on your own."

"Oh," repeated Mike. "Uh… y-you think?"

"Yep and I know what you're thinking about," she went on. "You don't want to burden anyone else with it so you keep it to yourself and I'm here to tell you right now I'm not letting that happen. I know someone very close to me who did and sometimes still does the exact same thing, so I'm gonna say the same thing I say to her: you can talk to me. It's what I'm here for."

Mike thought about this. Susie was right about the two of them not knowing each other very well, but really almost from the moment he'd started working at Freddy's, she'd been nothing but friendly and welcoming to him. She was nice, funny and cheerful. It really seemed like she cared and nowhere was that more apparent than right now.

Plus, he didn't have to go into too much detail about who it was he was talking about. For one thing, she'd think he was either insane or some kind of creepy furry if she knew who Mike was referring to. But there was the chance she might be able to relate. She was definitely more social and outgoing than he was.

"Y-Yeah. Okay," he conceded. "If you think it'll help…"

"Mike, trust me, talking always helps," she said. "You've still gotta go home and catch some sleep, right? How about you do that, then come back when I'm off for lunch at 12:15. You can join me for it, we can sit and talk and you can make it up to me properly."

"I thought y-you'd forgiven me," pointed out Mike.

"I said I accepted your apology, but I want to be sure you've earned my forgiveness," she returned, moving past him to take her place. "So, I shall see you promptly at that time or else, Mr. Schmidt."

"R-Right. See you, Susie."

She gave him one last reassuring smile before he left for home. When he arrived back in his apartment, the TV flickered to life and Goldie's avatar appeared on the screen with a sly smile on her face.

"You know for someone who apparently thinks he doesn't do well with them, you seem to have a way with the ladies, Mike," remarked Golden. "Chica was taken when she met you. Bonnie likes you in her own way. Susie's taken a shine to you and I consider you my best friend. How's a nice guy like you still single?"

"It's simpler that way," he muttered in a rather biting tone.

"Mike, I'm sorry," she said, sounding more sincere. "I was only teasing."

"Yeah, I know." He smiled a little at her. "Sorry about that. I-I know you understand why."

"Yes, I do," she confirmed. "Still, it's good you're trying to expand your social circle. Susie seems like a nice person. I've checked her personnel file. No nefarious incidents to speak of or childhood issues or anything of the sort."

"Did you really have to go through her files?" asked Mike.

"Of course. After all the nonsense you've had to endure, I want to be sure my best friend doesn't have any more nasty surprises," she said brightly.

"Well, I appreciate that, Goldie. I-It is still kind of breaching privacy though," he added.

"No, breaching privacy would be going through her internet history and various electronic messages which I have not. I am slightly curious but I have refrained from indulging it. Honestly, you should be proud of me for showing such restraint."

"Well done," deadpanned Mike.

"Thank you. But now that I have that knowledge, there's a good chance she could give you another perspective on sorting out your feelings for Chica. Did your talk with your dad help at all?" she asked.

"I don't know," he groaned. "He told me that it was obvious she liked me and that maybe I liked her in uh, _that_ way. He basically told me th-that if I think there's a chance, I should give it a shot but I really don't know."

"Hmm." Golden considered this. "Well, I'm not really an expert on these matters but I think he has a point there. Ultimately, it is your decision. My only advice to you is be careful with whatever choice you make. You never know, maybe a talk with Susie will give you some more food for thought and help you out. And in the end, you can always talk to me. I don't know how much help I could be with this since I have no real experience of romance but I do have instant access to the internet."

"Yeah… I hope you're right. Thanks," he said. "You seem like you're in a better mood."

"Oh I most certainly am," she agreed. "You probably already noticed but Chica actually came backstage to speak to me. I mean actually speak to me, not just stare at me like a frightened rabbit or deliver harsh remarks like Bonnie."

"Yeah, I noticed. Uh, how did it go?"

"About as well as can be expected at this stage. There are obviously some issues that still need to be confronted but I really feel like some genuine progress is being made that could lead to me being reintegrated." A smile began to grow on her face. "After so long… it'll be good to be accepted again."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," murmured Mike. "So uh… what did you talk about?"

"I made amends for calling her childish, we talked a little about a debate Freddy and I were having before, I mentioned my idea for a new place in the show," she answered. "You never once came up in conversation, Mike."

"W-What?! I-I didn't ask that!" he insisted.

"No, but it's fairly obvious that's what you meant given the way you asked it, how you just reacted and your preoccupation with Chica recently," she deduced.

Knowing she had him there, Mike opted for embarrassed silence.

"She really wants to try and get us all together again. That's so like her," she said fondly. "Did she mention to you all she had something planned for tonight?"

"Uh yeah, she went to work on it in the kitchen. Wh-What do you think it could be?"

"Knowing Chica, something wholesome with fun for everyone. I imagine some kind of small party or a big dinner, something that'll have us all in one place. Hopefully it'll work out, if Bonnie can behave herself," she added. "Chica must have noticed it. I imagine that came up when she was talking to her the night before last. If she makes an effort, so will I."

"That's good then," noted Mike.

"I hope so. In addition, it could work out as something of an early birthday celebration for you, Mike," she pointed out positively. "Unless you've actually told them when your birthday is?"

"It's uh never really come up a-and with everything that's happened it doesn't r-really seem like the best time t-to mention it."

She shook her head exasperatedly. "Mike, don't be ridiculous. I know things have been very eventful but that's no reason for you to not mention your birthday's coming up. Maybe I can find a way to discreetly mention it at some point. They're your friends, of course they'd want to know. It would give everyone another reason to have a good time too."

"I guess you're right." He stretched and yawned. "I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll see you later, Goldie."

"Until then, Mike." With one final smile and tip of her hat, the screen flickered off and Mike took that as a cue to trudge off to bed.

* * *

Mike awoke from another uneasy sleep with his alarm buzzing. He didn't want to take any chances on possibly missing his rendezvous with Susie and make her annoyed at him again. He really didn't like upsetting people.

He made it back on time just as she was leaving from behind the desk and someone else moved to take her place.

"Hey, well done you for making it in," she praised.

"Yo, aren't you, like, the night guard or something?" asked her replacement.

Mike could now get a good close look at the man. His hair was almost as long as Susie's, reaching down to his shoulders. But unlike Susie's hair which was well-combed and washed, his looked like he only occasionally remembered to use shampoo and the whole thing was tatty and matted. In fact, that could be used to describe his whole appearance. His white shirt with the restaurant logo was creased with more than a few stains from drink to food to Mike-didn't-want-to-know-what. His expression seemed rather vacant like he wasn't completely in the present moment.

"Yes, he is," Susie answered for him. "This is Mike Schmidt."

"Oh hey, dude!" At this, his face lit up into a friendly smile and he held a hand. "Good to meet you! Name's Brad Marcus. I mean, maybe we've met before, I dunno. I find it kinda easy to lose track with how many guards we've blown through, you know?"

"Uh, no we haven't met." Mike carefully shook his hand. "Um, g-good to meet you too, Brad."

"Awesome and hey, kudos to you for sticking around. Those robots are so cool, I really don't get why those other guys bailed. But hey, their loss, your gain right? You get to hang around with the stars of the show after dark! Must be pretty good, am I right?" he asked, raising his eyebrows knowingly.

"Uh… I guess," muttered Mike.

"I knew it!" he enthused. "Man, you don't know how in love I am with this place. It really is the best, you know? I mean, they keep on a guy like me so it must be good. I know it's got, like, a rough history but this place means a whole lot to a lot of people in this town. Kids that come here, parents that probably came here too when they were kids, the staff that work here. I mean, do you know that guy Jim, in the kitchens? He was living on the street and this place gave him another shot. How many other restaurants or businesses or anything do something like that? It's really, really awesome…"

He trailed off, nodding at his own words. Mike glanced uneasily at Susie who gave a reassuring look and chose this moment to step in.

"Yes, Freddy's is awesome, Brad. Thank you for enlightening us. Now, I've got my break and you've got a job to do," she reminded him.

"Huh? Oh yeah, right. Duh!" He chuckled and sank into the chair. "Have a good one, Suz! Catch you later, Mike-man! Good to have you in the Fazbear Family. You ever need anything, I got your back, bro."

"Uh, thanks," Mike said unsurely as Susie steered him away. "Is he always so… well…"

"Pretty much," she answered. "Well, it varies. Usually he's like that, a little out of it and talkative but otherwise mellow and nice. Other times he can be, well, the opposite. Gets on with his job, doesn't talk much to anyone and sometimes snaps at people who try to ask what's bothering him. But mostly he's a good guy. A little rough around the edges maybe but who isn't."

"Okay then," Mike said. "Uh, where are we going?"

"Employee's lounge, where else?" she replied. "You may get that cosy little office all to yourself but the rest of us day shifters have to share a space."

Mike let Susie guide him though he knew where it was. It was on the same corridor as the supply closet. He did use it himself if he needed a coffee but the machine wasn't exactly Starbucks standards. In fact the whole of the lounge wasn't exactly up to great standards. The paint was chipping on the walls and the chairs had a rather moth eaten look.

There were a couple of other employees in there as well. One was a young man of Asian descent who appeared to be a waiter and sat rather nervously in his chair, folding something over in his hands. The other was an older man, in his sixties or seventies Mike was guessing, who sat in a corner chair reading a magazine. He wore a grey shirt and cap along with a rather sullen expression.

"Hey Ken!" greeted Susie. "What's that you've got there?"

"Oh! Susie! It's uh, it's nothing!" he insisted, hurriedly shoving it in his pocket. Mike caught a glimpse of what seemed to be an envelope. "Uh, what's new? Happy Valentine's!"

"Aw thanks, you too!" she returned. "I'll just pretend I didn't see what was obviously a card for Anita then, shall I?"

"Yes! I mean, no! Um, yes?" he tried.

"Alright then," she nodded slowly. "Just too bad that wasn't a card for her because if it was and you were worrying about how to give it to her without her knowing, I would tell you to place it under the cushion of the chair she likes to use. But since it's not, never mind."

She very pointedly looked away, turning Mike around too. He glanced around to see Ken doing precisely as Susie had suggested, kneeling down to one of the chairs and sliding the card inside it. They both turned to face him when he spoke to them.

"Yes, that's too bad," agreed Ken while he mouthed 'thank you' to Susie. "Right, I'd better get back to work. Oh wait, you're the night guard, right? Mike, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. I mean uh y-yeah, I am Mike and I'm the night guard," he clarified.

"Good to meet you. I'm Ken, but you probably already got that. Right, time to dive back in. Happy Valentine's again!" he wished them.

"You too!" returned Susie, leaning towards Mike after he'd gone. "He's had a crush on one of the waitresses for a while, Anita Stenson. Not sure if she knows since she spends most of her time looking at her phone."

"I-I see," murmured Mike.

"You'll know her when you see her, she should be on break in about five minutes." She nudged him as they sat down. "See, this is the kind of enriching interaction you miss out on being stuck all on your own at night."

"You'd be surprised," he said under his breath, then louder said, "I-I'm fine with that. You can just uh, tell me about it yourself, right?"

She snapped her fingers. "Ooh, good idea. I can be your woman on the inside, reporting all the comings and goings of we day shift drones. It'll be like you're one of us. And if anything interesting comes up during the night, you can tell me."

"I-I guess, but not m-much happens," he dismissed. "I-It's kind of dull really."

"I'm sure you could make it interesting. Hold on a second," she added before looking at the old man. "Hey Harvey! How's it hanging?"

Harvey looked up at her. He briefly held his gaze on her, then it lingered on Mike. It was a little unsettling until he let out a grunt in reply and returned to reading.

"That's Harvey Laven, our janitor," she explained quietly. "He's a little on the grouchy side, but he does his job well so we can't complain too much."

"He also has excellent hearing," Harvey remarked harshly but not looking up.

"Sorry, Harvey! You know I don't mean anything bad by it!" She turned back to Mike. "So, Mike," she began, "doing anything nice for today?"

"H-Huh?" Mike was a little confused by the question.

"You know, Valentine's Day? February 14th?"

"Y-Yeah, I know," he nodded. "But uh, I thought w-we were gonna talk about uh… well…"

"Not just yet. Come on, Mike have you never heard of small talk?" she teased. "This is my first chance I've had to properly talk to you so I'm not going to waste it. So, are you?"

"Um… not really," he admitted. "I kind of prefer to just let it pass me by."

She nodded. "Hmm, my girlfriend was pretty much the same. Still is really."

"M-Mind if I ask why?"

"Call it years of unrequited affection. We do try to make it special though, we just don't go out. We'll stay at home, watch a movie and snuggle up, I'll try and cook. The key word being 'try'," she added sheepishly. "Then we end up ordering takeaway instead. We still end up having a good time."

"Sounds like it," agreed Mike. "What kind of movie?"

"We flip a coin. We have different tastes where movies are concerned. Like, I love action and horror stuff but she can't stand it. Prefers romantic comedies and things like that whereas I can only barely stomach them. But we compromise on it and then we usually end up making out half way through anyway so it works out well for everyone." She suddenly looked a little guilty. "Sorry, this probably isn't making you feel much better is it?"

"No, no i-it's fine," Mike insisted. "It's uh, it's nice that you're happy with her. Um w-what's her name?"

"Wendy Parker and before you ask, yes the Spider-Man jokes are very frequent. Granted she doesn't always get them, but I'll be damned if I let that pass by," she laughed. "She was my best friend for a long time and almost that whole time… I never even knew. Talk about dense, right?"

"N-No I… I understand that." Better than you might think, he added in his mind.

"Ah, so have you been the victim of many failed childhood crushes too? And probably a few adulthood ones?" she teased.

"P-Pretty much."

"Well, hang in there, Mike. You'll find someone. Who knows, they might be someone you've always known and you just need to look a little closer," she encouraged.

He gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Susie."

"It's what I do," she said with a small salute.

They continued talking for a while longer. She wasn't much of gamer but she was well versed in the movies she enjoyed. Mike hadn't seen many horror movies, but he'd seen enough and knew enough to hold some kind of conversation. Mainly in how samey and clichéd they were. Susie, however, gave him a teasing smile.

"You say that but I bet you still flinched whenever there was a jump scare."

"Uh…" Mike decided not to answer that.

Mike also learned a little more about her personally. Apparently she played the ukulele and her girlfriend, Wendy, was a good singer and piano player. They'd have some nights where they'd play and sing together. She'd been a regular at Freddy's when she was younger and had been working here for six years. Mike in turn divulged a little about himself, mainly about his own family and upbringing, as well as some of his interests.

As the time went by, Mike realised she had made a good point about the small talk. He'd always known her as the friendly, chipper cashier but now he was sitting down and actually getting to know her better and she him, he felt more comfortable with her. Nothing incredibly deep but it was moving out of the territory of casual acquaintance and towards being a friend.

At one point, a waitress Mike assumed was Anita came in. She looked about the same age as Ken with her dark hair tied up in a bun for work and a deep scowl set on her face while she stared down at her phone. She sat down in the chair Ken had placed the card and glanced around to see it poking out. She frowned at it while she examined it.

"Susie, you know whose this is?" she asked.

"Not a clue," she shrugged. "How about you open it?"

"Hmm." She stared curiously at Mike but didn't ask about him. "This is a first." She didn't sound very enthusiastic. Then she dumped it in the nearby trash can and went back to her phone.

"Anita!" protested Susie. "Why did you do that?!"

"Why wouldn't I?" she retorted in an uninterested monotone. "It's obviously not serious. Probably that jerk Bobby's idea of a joke. I'm not going to embarrass myself on this pointless day."

"Another waiter," she whispered to Mike. "B-But what if it isn't?" argued Susie. "What if it's totally serious?"

"What does it matter to you?" she snapped, glaring at her. "I know this is going to be difficult for you to grasp, but it's none of your business."

"Okay, okay," said Susie, holding her hands up. "If you really think it's not a serious card, leave it in the trash. Either you disappoint Bobby by not falling for his prank or you disappoint whoever else it could be by not even looking at the card that obviously took a lot of guts to give to you. Either way you disappoint somebody so win-win."

"If they really had guts, they'd give it to me themselves." She sat for a bit, fidgeting in her seat. She was glancing between the card poking out of the trash and her phone. Then crossed back to the trash can and pulled out the card again. "I'll open it later."

"Whatever, it's none of my business," shrugged Susie while she winked at Mike.

Eventually, they arrived at the topic that had been put in the reserves being brought into play.

"So," she began, "what is it that got you in such a 'yeah' mood?"

"W-Well…" Mike hesitated. "It's um… it's kind of to do with uh… w-with today."

"Ah, I see," she nodded. "Another unrequited crush or did you send someone a Valentine's Day card and are really regretting doing it?"

"N-Nothing like that. It's uh…" He stopped to think for a few moments. "Susie. Can I… ask you something?"

"Sure you can. What is it?"

"Well… a while ago, I… well, I… I loved someone. Like, really loved her. But… things didn't w-work out and she um, w-went with um… with someone else. A-And it's like I… I know th-there's no getting her b-back but… well, I h-have a hard time… letting go. I guess as well… I don't w-want to get hurt like that again… o-or make the same mistake…" He had to stop when he realised how much his voice was trembling and even felt his eyes water up a little. "A-And n-now… s-someone else has uh… expressed i-interest in m-me. I-I kind of turned her d-down because of… well, th-this. Now… I don't know what to do. I-I mean, she's nice a-and I think… a part of m-me does want t-to try but… I really don't know…"

Silence fell between them as Mike ended up staring resolutely at the coffee table. Then he felt a warm hand being placed on his shoulder and he looked up to see Susie with a sympathetic expression.

"Mike, as strange as it might seem, I know exactly how you feel."

"Y-You do?" he asked.

"I do. Let me tell you something." She shifted a little in her chair so she faced him more directly. "Back when I was in high school and I was only just figuring out I didn't see what the big deal about guys was when girls seemed way more appealing, there was this girl. Vera. She was gorgeous, the living breathing version of the hot, popular girl you always see in movies. She was pretty much the reason I realised that I wasn't attracted to guys." A very faint blush came to her cheeks. "I spent years pining after her. At some point, she realised it and pulled me aside one day after she'd dumped another one of her many boyfriends. Told me she wanted to branch out. Then she kissed me. Right there. I couldn't believe what was happening. It was like that for a while. We didn't really talk, we just… made out. We kept it a secret as best we could but eventually, I got the same as a dozen other guys before her. I didn't get why she broke up with me, didn't understand what I'd done wrong. I did some crazy, stupid stuff to try and win her back."

Mike listened intently. "W-What happened?"

"My friends knocked some sense into me. One of them literally," she recalled with an ironic smile. "Vera wasn't really interested in me. I was basically like a toy to her. She only used me to play for a while until she got bored. I didn't listen at first, but as time went on I realised they were right. To her, it was just a phase but not for me. I tried so hard and for so long, convinced myself there had to be something there. But the thing that really clenched it for me… was when my best friend told me how heart-breaking it was to watch me pining after Vera and never even noticed her."

She gazed off into the middle distance for a bit before directing her attention back to Mike. Gone was any of the levity he was used to seeing from her. She was completely serious now.

"I understand it's probably not exactly like it was with you, but I do understand how you feel. To try and cling onto something special while its getting further away from you. Even after its long gone, you still try and grasp for it. But if it's gone, then it's gone. No two ways about it. If you know there's no way of getting it back, stop trying to convince yourself of anything otherwise. Let go and move on. Not just for yourself, but for everyone around you. And if you get another chance to create something entirely new that could be just as special, then you take that chance and don't give a second thought to what's been. Otherwise that one may just end up passing you by as well. You get me?"

After a while, Mike nodded.

"Good boy." She patted his arm again. "You owe yourself another chance if you feel like you've got it. You just be sure to make this girl happy, okay? And if you ever need any advice in that department or just need someone to jabber to, hit me up. You feeling any less 'yeah'?"

"I… I think so," replied Mike.

"You sure?"

"Y-Yeah, pretty sure."

"Marvellous! See, what did I tell you?" She looked up at the clock and stood up. "Right, I'd better get back to my post. It was good talking to you, Mike. We should do this again sometime."

"Yeah, definitely," he agreed. "Th-Thanks a lot, Susie."

"Don't worry about it," she dismissed. "After all, what are friends for?"

She gave him one last friendly smile and departed, leaving Mike with a lot to think about and Harvey Laven sitting in the corner while he continued to read his old magazine.

After a while, Mike stood and made to leave. As he was making his way back through the dining area, he was surprised when Chica got his attention.

"Mike, how lovely to see you!" she greeted, walking towards him. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

"Y-Yeah, uh, you t-too," he returned.

"Aw, thank you." She pulled him in for a hug and whispered in his ear, "Don't eat before coming in tonight." She stepped back. "Well, I have to get back to the little ones. I hope you have a wonderful day, Mike."

Mike stared at her for a little bit while she went back until he remembered he was right in the middle of the dining room surrounded by excited children and made himself scarce. He gave another wave to Susie before he departed.

Sitting on the bus, Mike thought about what had transpired. It was a little odd what Chica had said to him. He already knew she was planning something but how he could be certain that it involved food. Some kind of dinner or a party then? It seemed reasonable to assume that it was because it was Valentine's Day but he didn't know if this was something she usually did.

He also realised that in the brief moment where it seemed like she'd been happy to see him and given him a hug, it had felt… nice. It reminded him of how he used to feel around her before… everything had happened. Of course he knew it was obvious that perhaps she was only putting it on so it wouldn't be awkward in front of the kids and to pass on a message but the feeling was still there.

Mike sighed mentally while he trudged back home. There was no changing the fact that what had happened with Lidiya had been painful for him. He knew he was scared of that pain repeating itself. That's why it was so much simpler to just be friends and not bother getting into the deeper, more complicated feelings that romance often brought. He wouldn't get hurt and neither would the person involved. They could still be friends.

Yet he and Chica had been so awkward recently and it was in part due to him being too scared to even give her a chance. Looking back and after hearing from his dad what she'd been through, he realised how selfish that was and felt ashamed. She'd had her heart broken too, yet she was still willing to put herself out there and believe there was a chance. And what had he done? Thrown it right back in her face without even really thinking about it and leading her on before because he was too much of a coward to admit it.

Now, he was too scared to even talk to her properly because he didn't know what he actually wanted and it was damaging their relationship even more. It had been easy to maintain his position when he'd had practically no contact with any women and the ones he did certainly weren't interested in him like that. But when someone had come along and actually, for the first time in a while, had some kind of crush on him… he'd not even given it a chance.

He began to wonder if maybe there still was a chance. Had Chica perhaps been grappling with similar emotions and not been sure how to properly approach him? Was he exacerbating those feelings by being awkward around her? Well tonight, he decided, that would change. During whatever it was she was planning, he would actually try and talk to her. Engage in actual conversation. Maybe he could gauge whether or not there was still a chance for them. If he thought there was, well…

It was still Valentine's Day. Perhaps this one would be a lucky one.

* * *

MajorVidGamer: Do we?  
You must have been watching a different set of prequels because the ones I saw had long and dull political scenes, fight scenes with no emotional weight or tension due to crappy enemies, poor characterisation and setups and midichlorians.

Arc of Carona: Yes it was.

Hickorydaisy: No, I didn't. I just plucked the first name I could think of out of air. It's not an uncommon name and it has nothing to do with your Katie.

Lord Zalgo: Well they can't stay holding onto their feelings and resentment forever. They have to move on eventually.

MurraySheWrote: Good. I can feel your dread of things to come.

DnWolfy: You would assume correctly.  
I'm getting the feeling you really want that crossover.

Lavender Hope: Good, it's what I like to see.  
Yeah I thought it would help things grow a little more to see them actually doing what they were born to do.  
We can only hope.  
I suppose that would be rather unfortunate, wouldn't it?  
There's still four more chapters to go, fret not.

Monkey999Boy: That one didn't even make any sense.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: The show must go on.  
Yeah, I love their dynamic too.  
I have already explained this…  
I don't know, why do you?  
I always take the middle, the middle is the best way.  
Yes, surely it will.


	6. Get Together

**Get Together**

Hurriedly removing her suit, Chica tried to get to the kitchen as fast as she could. Then she ended up stumbling and falling to the floor. She hadn't removed her left foot on her suit. Amidst Bonnie making a remark on what a klutz she was, she'd gotten it off and made it to her destination with only a slight loss of dignity that did nothing to make her feel embarrassed or put down. She was in too good a mood for that.

Chica smiled from the euphoria she still felt from the satisfaction of a good day. It felt so good to be reminded why she loved this day so much. Being able to express herself the way she did through the preparation and participation of activities for the children was something she wouldn't trade for anything. It was even better that her family was able to enjoy it like she did. Even Bonnie, to a certain extent.

Of course, one of their number had been unavoidably missed out. Still, after their talk last night, she hadn't felt as she had the day before. Chica felt like talking to their old mentor last night had done the both of them some good. Like they'd both taken another step towards understanding one another again and possibly reintegrating her. If she did happen to be looking in the direction of a camera, she'd taken the time to give a little wave rather than try to avoid its gaze. If Golden really was watching like she suspected she was, Chica hoped she'd appreciate that.

It was the events of the past couple of nights combined with the fun she'd had during the days that made Chica really feel like what she had in mind would be another step for Golden and for everyone. It felt so good that she might actually be able to do something about the whole thing, rather than stand by and fret like before. Like when she'd been shut down…

There was still doubt, of course there was. But she was doing her best to pay it no mind and hold on to that confidence. If she started letting it get the better of her, it would spiral out of control and she wouldn't be able to stop herself. Besides, she wouldn't be completely alone. She knew everyone would do their part to help her efforts too once they saw what she had in mind. She and Foxy could keep an eye on Bonnie while Golden could be handled by Freddy and Mike.

She stopped at the thought of him. While the main goal of her plan was to get Golden back into the fold or at least put her on the way to doing so, she also secretly hoped that she might be able to reconnect with Mike too. She wanted the tension between them to disappear and go back to being friends again. They'd managed it before, so there had to be some way to do it again. She didn't know if it would be possible or if she even wanted anything beyond friendship right now, but friendship wasn't too farfetched a goal for she and him… wasn't it?

"No, no," she said out loud. "None of that. I can do this. _We_ can do this."

She started to hum one of her songs for when she needed to keep her mind off something. She gathered the pizzas and cupcakes she'd prepared the night before and marked with a notice that they were a special order and not to be prepared for customers to eat. Each was specially prepared for everyone with the exception of Golden who obviously couldn't eat.

She and Freddy had Hawaiians with the ham and pineapple on each one arranged into a love heart for herself and a top hat for him. Foxy had one with seafood, arranged to look like a fish. Bonnie and Mike had pepperoni, the former with a lightning bolt and the latter a star for his security badge. The cupcakes all had matching colours for each of them: purple, red, yellow, chocolate brown and blue for Mike.

"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes," she sang while she placed them in the oven and danced out of the kitchen. "Brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favourite things!"

"When the dog bites!" struck up Foxy, poking his head out of the Cove.

"When the bee stings!" she returned.

They waited for a moment. Bonnie glanced from one to the other before rolling her eyes.

"When I'm feeling sad," she said rather dully.

Chica picked it up though. "I simply remember my favourite things and then I don't feeeeeeeeeeel…!"

"So baaaaaaaaaaaaaad!" belted Freddy with a hearty chuckle when he was finished. "Marvellous tune, simply marvellous."

"Eh, it's okay," shrugged Bonnie. "So, what's this whole surprise you've been cooking up? Literally, by the smell of it."

"I'm about to tell you." She cleared her throat and called, "Would everyone please assemble in the dining area! And I mean, everyone!"

Mike came from the security office seconds later. She gave him her brightest smile and he gave her a small one in return, along with a little blush. Almost a minute passed before the backstage door opened again and Golden emerged. Despite the somewhat imposing figure she cut in her suit and endoskeleton, she still appeared somewhat diminished and unsure as she walked out.

Chica didn't miss the look that Bonnie was giving her, nor did she. The blue eyes of the endoskeleton returned it unwaveringly while she stood closest to Freddy and Mike. Chica nodded, then clapped her hands together and faced them all.

"Good evening everyone," she greeted. "First of all, a very happy Valentine's Day to everyone!"

"Even if it isn't." Every head turned to look at Golden. "Well, it's past midnight now so technically right now it's the day after Valentine's Day."

"So what? That a problem?" challenged Bonnie.

"Not at all. I was only pointing out. I thought it might be funny." She laughed a little, but it soon ended when no one else joined in. "Or perhaps not."

"No, no, I suppose it is a little funny." Chica added a small laugh of her own and gave her a smile. "Thank you, Golden. So, happy day-after-Valentine's Day I should say. But even if the day itself has passed, I personally still feel the spirit of it. As I told Bonnie two days ago, I've recently come to the revelation that while Valentine's Day is celebrated as the day of love, that usually seems to mean romantic love. But it doesn't have to be. Love takes so many different forms. Love of food, of music, of singing, dancing, playing. Love for your friends and your family. So in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I feel we should all come together to celebrate that last kind of love in particular and share other kinds of love too. And what better way to do it than with a party?"

"Well said, Chica!" cheered Foxy. "Any excuse for merriment is fine with me!"

Bonnie shrugged. "I guess this could be fun."

"That is certainly a fine idea," praised Freddy. "Am I to take it we start the evening off with a shared meal first?"

"We are indeed." She looked at Golden. "I know you can't really eat, Golden but I'd still like for you to sit down and join us anyway."

"Of course. I'll be happy to join you all and be reminded of my physical limitations by having everyone else around me partake in them," she remarked.

Chica didn't really know how to respond to that and began to feel a little diminished. However, someone else spoke for her.

"Hey, lay off!" barked Bonnie. "She's trying to do something nice, she doesn't need you putting her down like that!"

"Joking, I was only joking," she placated. "Sorry, Chica. That was in poor taste. Pun not intended."

"That's fine," she dismissed with a smile. "They should be ready now. If you'd all like to take a seat in the central table, just wherever you like and I'll bring them out."

By the time she'd placed all of the steaming hot pizzas on plates and brought them out for serving, Chica felt both disappointed and unsurprised by the arrangements. Golden and Bonnie had placed themselves as far from each other as possible sitting directly opposite one another at the ends of the table. To Golden's right and left sat Freddy and Foxy respectively. For Bonnie, Mike was on her left and an empty seat for Chica was at her right.

"Here, I'll do that," offered Foxy, hopping up to assist. She opened her mouth to protest but he raised his hand. "No, no, it's fine, lass. You take a seat, I'll deal with this."

"Thank you, Foxy, that's sweet of you," she said. She took her seat next to Bonnie and looked around the table. "So, we're all here."

"Indeed we are," agreed Freddy. "This is rather pleasant."

"Yes. It is."

She cast around for a conversation topic. Nothing came to mind. No one else ventured one either. The silence endured while Foxy placed the food and drinks around. Bonnie started to eat a slice of herss, but stopped when Chica gave her a look that said 'wait until everyone has their food'. She set it down with a rather grumpy look, to which Chica returned with an indifferent gaze. So she glared at Golden instead, like it was somehow her fault she couldn't eat sooner. It was impossible to tell what kind of look Golden gave her in return.

"This looks a fine feast!" he complimented when he took his seat. "By yer leave, Chica."

"Thank you. Now everyone, dig in," she offered. "See Bonnie, was the wait so torturous after all?"

"I guess not," she grumbled, but still enthusiastically tucked in.

"So… everyone good?" she asked.

There was responses and murmurs of affirmations, but no one added anything to that.

"Right. Good. Yes, good."

She tried to think of something else to follow that up with, but her mind was a blank. With some reluctance, she began her meal.

Everyone ate in relative silence with only the sound of slurping drinks or chewing food permeating the air. Chica looked around for someone to try to talk to. Bonnie was focusing resolutely on her food. Mike was shifting rather awkwardly in his seat. They exchanged slight smiles when their eyes met but they diverted moments later. She still had no idea what to say to him. Golden sat so still it was eerie. Foxy too seemed to be waiting for someone to speak. In the end, it was Freddy she tried. He appeared the most receptive to speaking.

"So, Freddy, I thought we did uh, well today."

"I quite agree," he nodded. "I think we should all be very proud how we've managed to pull together again after all that has transpired recently."

"Couldn't have put it better meself," chimed in Foxy. "Ya try and pull us apart, we'll just come back tagether again."

"It's really something," nodded Mike.

Bonnie spoke up. "Yep. Even from the beginning we managed to pull through everything. Not just one, but two betrayals where our lives were put in danger and our deepest feelings were brought into view for everyone to see. It's just too bad that there was no way to prevent any of that from happening, that there was no other way that things could have turned out differently and maybe all been avoided."

"Bon," growled Foxy.

"What? I'm just saying."

Her eyes were on Golden the entire time. With no way to tell what her expression would show in terms of how those words affected her, they had to wait for her to speak.

"Once again, I'm sorry for everything that I've put you all through. But I have to agree with Freddy in that it really is remarkable the personal strength you've all shown in managing to pull through your personal issues."

"We didn't do it alone," pointed out Foxy.

"I know and that makes it even more remarkable, all of you banding together to help each other through it," she said sincerely. "I'm pleased to see you've all been able to move past it all and not let the resentment and bitterness of everything affect you now. That wouldn't be much good for anyone frankly."

"Now, Golden…" murmured Freddy.

"And what do you mean by that?" challenged Bonnie.

"Absolutely nothing, Bonnie," she replied easily. "Just that holding on to grudges like that isn't doing anyone any favours. Speaking from personal experience of course. It's difficult, but you should try to move past them, something I'm pleased to see Chica has realised. Hopefully, you all have too."

Bonnie glowered at her, clenching her fists.

"Did you get many kids turning up today?" Mike asked rather loudly. "I-I mean, it is Valentine's Day a-and everything."

"A very sizable turnout for Valentine's Day, yes Mike," answered Freddy. "I noticed young Shaun's absence today though. Chica you spoke with him and his mother yesterday, do you know what the matter is?"

She shook her head sadly. "The poor thing. His sister has gone missing. The police are looking for her, but he must miss her so much. What with how close they were. I can't imagine what he and his mother must be going through."

"Blow me down," murmured Foxy. "Poor lil' tyke. He and his sister could be a handful, but no child deserves that."

"Apparently there's two more. M-Missing kids, I mean," added Mike. "That's uh, that's what Goldie said to me uh… w-well, it was what she told me."

"Yes," she confirmed after a moment's silence. "Three children, all reported missing in the past few weeks. It's a sad thing but it's interesting too."

"Yeah, you would find missing kids _interesting_ ," remarked Bonnie, muttering about her being 'sick' under her breath.

"I only meant in that… never mind," she dismissed. "It's not important."

"Golden, if you want to add your two cents to this, don't feel prohibited from doing so," encouraged Freddy.

"No, it's fine, dear brother. I wouldn't want to possibly contribute to a hostile atmosphere," she replied. She gave Bonnie a cursory glance when she said this. "I think we should move on a more pleasant topic rather than missing children?"

"Good idea," agreed Freddy. "Perhaps you'd like to share what you had in mind if you were to re-join the show during the day?"

"Like that's gonna happen," murmured Bonnie.

"What were ya thinkin' of?" asked Foxy.

"Yeah, I'm a little curious to hear about this," put in Mike.

"Well, if you all must know." She cleared her throat and stood up. "It is my intention that I will one day return to the stage as…" She struck a valiant pose. "Goldie the Great! Mighty Magician!"

"I thought it was the Great Goldie, Magician Extraordinaire?" reminded Chica with a suppressed giggle.

"I'm still ironing out some of the details, it's still very much in beta phase," she answered.

"Now that'd be an interestin' thing ta see. Ya plannin' on wearin' a big cape too?" chuckled Foxy.

She wagged a finger at him. "You tease, Foxy but that is very much going to be part of my apparel. Perhaps a dress cane too."

"So the uh, Tuxedo Mask look?" asked Mike.

"Actually, that is rather what I had in mind. Speaking of which, I will probably need a glamourous assistant. Fancy throwing on a Sailor Moon outfit and helping out there, Mike?" she asked.

Mike choked on the pizza he was eating. "W-What?! I… I can't… I-I mean… I c-can't dress up l-like that!"

"Oh come on, Mike, don't sell yourself short. You may not have the hips for the skirt but you definitely have the legs. You're going to look fantastic."

"I-I'm not wearing it!" he insisted in a rather high voice.

"See? You're even starting to sound like her!" praised Golden. "You'll be perfect!"

He groaned and lowered his head.

"Hold on, what is it the lad's gotta wear?" asked Foxy.

"No, please, don't tell him!" begged Mike.

"Well, allow me to educate you, Foxy. Think of a sailor outfit that looks more like a one piece swimsuit. Got that?" Foxy nodded. "Now, picture shin high white boots. Finally, think of the shortest possible blue skirt you can possibly picture. Then make it shorter. Now put Mike in it and hey presto! My beautiful assistant!"

Foxy thought about this. Then he burst out laughing. Admittedly, Chica had started picturing it as well and simply couldn't help herself, soon joining in with Foxy's raucous laughter. Mike sank even lower in his chair and Chica imagined that if he could, he'd be sinking right into the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mike," she giggled, "but it's rather hard to get rid of that image now. For the record, I think you'd look fantastic too."

He still looked embarrassed, but a slight smile came to his face at that.

Golden turned her eyes to her. "Well, if that's how you feel, Chica then there's still at least four other Sailor Scouts that need to be filled in. How would you like to be Venus?"

Now it was her turn to blush. "I-I'm sorry?"

"I think she'd be the best fit for you. Named for the planet named after the Roman goddess of love, she's blonde and her skirt colour goes with her hair colour very well."

"W-Well… if you really think so," she said. "J-Just as long as the skirt isn't t-too short?"

"Of course," nodded Golden.

"Hey, w-what about me?!" demanded Mike. "How c-come I don't get to shorten mine?!"

"Woman's prerogative," she answered. "How about you, Foxy?"

"Why not?" he shrugged. "Might be good fun. Does one-a these Scouts wear red?"

"Yes she does, so Sailor Mars it is!" she declared, clapping her hands together. "Freddy, as one of the second largest of us you get Jupiter since she's quite tall."

"Very well then," he said, chuckling and shaking his head though he was smiling.

"And that leaves you with Sailor Mercury, Bonnie," finished Golden. "Sadly none of the Scouts have purple skirts but blue is a close enough match. She also has much shorter hair, but I think we can take certain liberties."

Bonnie didn't reply to this. Not directly at least. The tension that was starting to alleviate before began to settle in again as she let the silence draw out while she stared Golden down.

"Magician huh?" Bonnie nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Really?" Chica imagined that if Golden had eyebrows, she would have raised one.

"Yeah. I mean, best I know how they work is by tricking people, deceiving them into seeing something that isn't actually there. It's perfect for you."

The tension only thickened following this. Chica tried to catch Bonnie's eye, but she was gazing straight at Golden and not glancing anywhere else. For her part, Golden matched her gaze.

"I see," she replied slowly. "You know, thinking about it, perhaps Sailor Mercury wouldn't be the best fit for you since she's actually the Guardian of Love and _Intelligence_."

Her eyes narrowed. "You think I'm stupid?"

"Perhaps 'think' isn't necessarily the right word."

Bonnie started to rise from her seat, but stopped when Chica grabbed her arm.

"Bonnie, _please_ ," she whispered beseechingly. "Just let it go, please?"

Bonnie looked from Chica to Golden who was receiving a stern glare from both Foxy and Freddy. After a while, she lowered herself back into her seat but continued to glare at her from across the table.

"Alright then!" said Foxy loudly. "I think we should be eatin' up! Food's gettin' cold and the night's still young. I'm lookin' forward ta what else our Chica has planned."

There was an unspoken consensus to continue the rest of their meal in silence, though the tension continued to hang over them like daggers held up only by a hair thin thread. Every now and again, Chica would glance between Bonnie and Golden. Neither said a word, but both of their eyes were boring into each other.

Still, she did her best to keep her worries in check. As Foxy said, it was still just the start of the evening. Perhaps things would get better as the night went on. Besides until things had broken down, it looked like it was going rather well. Everyone had been having a good time and Golden was included. Maybe that inclusion would get better when it was something she wasn't physically restricted from participating in as with eating.

Once their plates were cleared, they moved to the area in front of the stage for the next event. A simple guessing game where they were only allowed to asked twenty questions with yes or no answers. Freddy stood up to go first while the rest of them guessed.

"Right, is it an animal?" tried Foxy.

"No."

"A human then?"

"Yes, Mike."

"Um, a woman?" asked Chica.

"Afraid not."

"So a guy," deduced Bonnie. "Young or old?"

"Ask one or the other, Bonnie," reminded Freddy.

"Oh yeah. Uh, is he old?"

"No he isn't."

"Does this person exist in reality?" asked Golden.

"No."

"Interestin', so fictional. From a book?" asked Foxy.

"Indeed."

"A good guy? I-I mean, he's not a villain," clarified Mike.

"Yes, he is on the side of good."

Chica tapped her chin. "Is he… someone important?"

"Yes, most certainly."

"In charge of something?" tried Bonnie.

"Quite so."

"Is this place a school?"

"Yes it is, dear sister."

"Albus Dumbledore," said Golden before Foxy could follow up.

"Yes, very quick," answered Freddy. "Well done."

"Aw come on! How did you get that so quickly?" complained Bonnie.

"It wasn't difficult to figure out. Freddy has always been an avid reader, as I'm sure you all remember when you were all still being trained. Judging from the small collection of books he has housed in the cupboard in the back room that doesn't seem to have changed. Foremost in the pile and still looking quite new are all seven Harry Potter books. Freddy also has a habit of being most avid about things he's read recently if our discussions on the series these past few days are any indication in addition to quoting it more than once. I also imagine that given some of their shared characteristics that Dumbledore is someone he could easily identify with himself (a possible indicator of something of an ego still left in there despite his humble demeanour), so given that and all the clues we'd accumulated so far there was only one possible conclusion: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as well as numerous other wizarding titles including Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and a place alongside many other famous witches and wizards on the chocolate frog cards. Anything unclear, Bonnie?"

She said all of this without drawing breath once. Bonnie's only response was to glower at her and sit with her arms folded.

While this deductive reasoning was quite impressive at first, it eventually started to wear thin when it became clear that Golden was able to rather quickly guess the answers. More than once she needed only needed between five and ten clues to know the answer. Added to that knowledge was that she seemed to have a great understanding of all of their personal psychology for obvious reasons. Chica wouldn't be surprised if she'd thought of about a hundred possible answers they could give before they even thought of one. She certainly wasn't ashamed to show off how easily she knew either.

This did nothing but aggravate Bonnie who finally snapped when Golden guessed her answer of Guns N' Roses with only five clues.

"Alright, that's it! You're cheating, you gotta be!"

"Bonnie, I am certainly not cheating. It was easy enough to deduce, you see-"

"No! Shut up, I don't wanna know, I don't care!" she dismissed. "You have to be cheating, that's the only way you could have known every single answer! Like using the internet or something!"

"Or maybe I'm just that good," countered Golden.

"I think perhaps you should try and let someone else try to guess the next one, Golden," suggested Freddy. "Your skill of play is very impressive, but bear in mind there are other players too."

"You make a fair point," she agreed.

The game carried on and Golden remained silent, but Bonnie still gave her withering looks the whole time as if daring her to try and guess.

When they eventually decided to move on, Chica introduced the part of the evening where they simply danced to some music provided by the stereo and Bonnie's mix CD. While they started to mill onto the space created as their dance floor, Chica took the chance to have a sit down. Bonnie and Golden were keeping space from one another but at least they didn't seem to be at each other's throats. For now.

They didn't seem to be showing any signs of improving regarding their evident tension. That small part of her that doubted this would work at all was gaining more ground and she was having trouble keeping it quiet. Was there any hope left at all or had this whole thing been doomed to fail from the beginning…?

"Hey? You uh, okay?" She looked up to see Mike.

"Oh, Mike. No, I'm fine," she tried to tell him lightly.

"You sure? You uh… you look pretty down about something."

"Well…" She sighed. "This just isn't really turning out how I'd hoped."

"Oh. I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise, it isn't your fault," she assured. "All I want is for everyone to get along again. Like we used to do."

"That'd be nice," nodded Mike. Both of them were quiet for a bit. "So uh, were the hearts I did helpful?"

"Yes, very much. Thank you again for that, Mike," she said. "I will admit I was personally confused by some of them, but the children got them so I suppose that's what counts."

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean for that."

"No, don't be silly. We can end up getting a little out of touch with things having to stay in here. The only way we end up learning about anything is hearing from gossip or picking up a newspaper if any of us feel like it." She laughed a bit. "I'm even a little ashamed to admit that I'm no longer as knowledgeable about Disney as I thought I was."

"Was uh, that for Elsa and Anna by any chance?" asked Mike.

"Yes, actually. Apparently they're sisters from a film called _Frozen_ but that's all I really gathered."

"Uh yeah. They're born into a royal family in the kingdom of Arendelle so they're princesses because, you know, Disney and everything," explained Mike. "Elsa's special because she was born with um, with magical ice powers. Like, she can create ice a-and snow from her hands."

"Ooh, that sounds interesting."

"Yeah uh she and Anna use it to play when they're kids. Like, make it snow i-indoors and stuff. Then one day, Elsa accidentally hits her sister with her powers and freezes her brain."

"Oh how horrible," she gasped. "Does Anna turn out okay?"

"Sort of. Th-They manage to get her freezing treated but uh… they have to wipe her memory of Elsa's powers. Both Elsa and their parents are terrified of it happening again so they separate them a-and Elsa isolates herself until she can control her powers properly. They don't see each other again until they're young women…"

"Oh no," she murmured. "That sounds awful, being separated like that. I want to ask more but I don't want to spoil myself if I ever end up seeing it. I really want to now."

"Yeah, I think you'd like it. The animation is really good, the characters are great and most of the songs are pretty catchy. There's one especially that everyone's been singing recently and I mean _everyone_ ," he went on. "It's gotten kind of annoying now."

"You mean this one?" She hummed the tune she'd heard Annie singing.

"That's it," he groaned. "Let It Go. You can't really go far online now without someone doing another cover of that song."

"It must be a very standout one then. I'd at least like to hear it. Unless you don't want to run the risk of having someone else get obsessed with it," she joked.

"No uh, that'd be fine. It'd uh… it'd sound fine coming from you."

"Thank you, Mike." She internally cheered. They were actually holding a conversation again! "So, do you have any particular Disney films that you like?"

"Quite a few, yeah," he replied. "Let's see, there's-"

"Hey watch what you're doing!"

They whirled around at the sound of Bonnie's voice. From the looks of things, Golden had bumped into her on the dance floor.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," apologised Golden.

"Don't gimme that crap!" snapped Bonnie. "You did that on purpose!"

"Really? And to what end, may I ask?" Golden asked.

"You know why! You've been bugging me all night! You're trying to make me look bad!"

"Hold on there, lass," Foxy tried to intervene.

"You seem to be managing to do that just fine by yourself," Golden returned.

"See, right there!" she pointed. "Cut it out right now!"

"Sister, I think we should take a moment here before this goes any further," advised Freddy.

"Sorry, brother but this has been coming for some time." She rounded on Bonnie. "The only thing I'm doing is standing against outright hostility from you which you are expressing despite the fact that I have done nothing."

"How the hell can you look me in the eye and say that?! You've done plenty!"

"I know, but I am trying to move on from that now yet you seem determined to believe that I'm a coiled snake waiting to strike."

"And why should I believe anything you have to say?! You've already lied to us before, who's to say you're not doing it now?!"

"Doesn't Mike's word count for anything?"

"You lied to him too! Same thing, same problem!"

"Uh, guys?" Mike piped up.

"The only problem here is you refusing to let go of your ridiculous paranoid tendencies and senseless hostility."

"Oi!" Foxy stepped in. "Ya can't say yer makin' an effort and go insultin' her like that!"

"And here they are, the two scoundrels banding together against the evil villain," she remarked. "I thought we at least were reconnecting, Foxy."

"Aye, but she's right. Ya have been tryin' ta get under her skin. Anytime she's said somethin' bad about ye, ye've always responded with yer snide remarks and veiled insults."

"Perhaps I did, once or twice. But only because I refuse to let myself be sullied when I'm barely being given a proper chance to earn back your trust."

"Well yer not goin' ta earn it back if ya keep sayin' stuff like that!"

"Now, let's be fair here," ventured Freddy. "I think it is possible to see where she's coming from."

"Oh you cannot be on her side for this, Freddy!" protested Bonnie.

"Guys?" Mike said a little louder again.

"There shouldn't be any sides, Bonnie," he countered. "Thus far, Mike, myself and recently Chica have been the only ones who've made a real effort to give Golden a second chance. You Bonnie seem determined to regard her in contempt."

"Aye and what she's doin' ta Bonnie ain't much better!" defended Foxy. "How can what she's said be seen as anythin' other than contemptuous?"

"I suppose the point could be made that both parties could be doin' more to give one another the benefit of the doubt."

"Freddy, I thought you were supposed to be defending me. You know how Bonnie's been acting towards me, I thought you understood."

"I am tryin' to reach a compromise. Arguin' and takin' sides doesn't do anyone any good."

"This wouldn't even need to be a problem if she wasn't here in the first place!" shouted Bonnie. "You should have stayed in that warehouse!"

"Well you're very welcome to go there yourself, Bonnie. You'd certainly be doing everyone a favour there!"

"Backstabbing traitor!"

"Insecure child!"

"Lying cow!"

"Immature halfwit!"

"Smart-ass bi-!"

"Guys!" Mike finally yelled. "W-Would you all just stop and look?!"

They all finally saw what he'd been trying to get them to see. Chica with upset, angry tears streaming down her face. Before anyone could say anything to her, she took off down the east hall near where the back door was. There she leaned against the wall and buried her face in her hands. She also let out a frustrated, distraught scream that was muffled in her hands.

It was all pointless. She'd deluded herself into thinking this whole stupid thing would actually work and look what had happened. Golden and Bonnie had been at each other's throats the whole evening, but she'd simply refused to see it, told herself that they'd work things out once they started to have fun. But they hadn't. Now…

Why had she even bothered? Why was it that every time she tried to do something herself or let herself believe things would turn out well, it was always thrown back in her face?

"Chica?" It was Mike's voice. She looked up from her hands to see him, gazing at her with concern. "I… I'm sorry."

"It's… n-not your fault," she assured weakly. "I-I thought th-this would work. I w-wanted this to work. W-Why, Mike? Why c-can't we j-just be together a-again?"

She hid her face again as the tears continued to flow. A few seconds past and she felt a light, reluctant pressing sensation on around her shoulder. When she didn't recoil from it, it increased and pulled her close. A hand patted her arm a little awkwardly, but it was still comforting.

"Come on," he said gently. "I-It'll be okay."

"N-No it won't," she sobbed. "Th-They hate each other. I thought… I thought they'd try…"

"I know," he murmured. "You know uh, m-maybe I can talk with Goldie a-along with Freddy. You and Foxy can d-deal with Bonnie. We'll work something out."

She gazed at him through watery eyes. "You… you r-really think so?"

"It's w-worth a try. You worked really hard t-to try and make this work. We can still do it," he encouraged.

She didn't know he if really had the full conviction of what he was saying, but it made her feel a little better knowing and hearing that she had someone trying to help on her side of things. Mike had gotten to know her the best since she'd come back, she trusted him the most it seemed and he'd already helped them so much before. Out of everyone who could have come to her and told her this would work out, it was him.

She knew he cared about them. Yes, he was rather unsure of himself at times and lacking confidence in his abilities but so was she. He was a good man with a good heart. Just like his father.

"Okay." She wiped her eyes. "Th-Thank you, M-Mike," she sniffed. "I… I r-really appreciate th-this. I-It's sweet th-that you care."

"I-It's fine," he said. "I didn't w-want you to be upset. I uh…"

Mike smiled a little bashfully and she couldn't help but smile slightly too. So this evening hadn't really gone like she'd wanted it to, but at the very least it looked like she and Mike were going to be fine. She was reminded somewhat why she had a crush on him in the first place. The thought of that combined with the fact he currently had his arm around her and his hand on one of her arms made her face grow warm.

She noticed the same reaction with him too, his cheeks going faintly red. His eyes flickered away but only for a brief moment. A familiar fluttering sensation arose in her chest and she was reminded of that moment they shared under the mistletoe. His comforting presence, gazing into his eyes, standing so closely…

She mentally dismissed the memories for now, with a touch of regret. This wasn't the time to be caught up such things. She was about to pull away, to begin talking with Mike on the possibility of what to do next and how best to fix this. But then something else happened. Something that she was in no way expecting or was prepared for.

Mike closed the distance between them and kissed her.

It couldn't have lasted for more than a couple of seconds. Seconds in which she briefly allowed herself the fantasy. Or maybe that was just how long it took her brain to fully comprehend what was happening. Either way, those seconds passed and when they did, she yanked herself out of Mike's embrace and lips. She stared at him in shock.

"M-Mike!" she cried. "Why did you do that?!"

"W-Well… I… I don't… I…"

While he fumbled with his words, Chica's thoughts were in a similar state. Why? Why did he kiss her? Had she made it seem like she wanted him to? Did she want him to? But he was the one who said they should be friends. What had changed? Did he actually want to be with her? Did she still want that? Had she ever really wanted that?

It was all too much. Just when she thought she'd gotten everything under control, it all came crumbling down once more. Her legs were shaking. Her hands were trembling. Her breathing was rapid and panicked. She didn't know what was happening, what to do, what to say, anything!

"Ch-Chica, i-it's okay," Mike tried to comfort, finally finding his voice. "I-It's fine."

"No… no, no," she murmured, to herself and to him.

How could he say that? What made him think that anything about this was okay?!

"C-Calm down, calm d-down," he urged, stepping towards her again. Reaching out to her. "I-It'll be fine."

"N-No, no!" she protested. She didn't want him close again. She didn't. "G-Get away!"

"Chica, p-please," he begged, continuing his advance, bearing down on her. "I-I'm sorry, l-let me help, please."

Closer, closer. He was almost upon her. She recoiled, she tried to get away but she couldn't. The space was tiny, there was nowhere to go. She shut her eyes, she thrust her arms out, she felt her hands push against something. She shook her head furiously, repeating herself over and over. No, no, no, no!

Then she realised Mike had stopped talking.

She dared to open her eyes and barely contained a cry of anguish at the sight. He was up against the wall, pushed into it with some force. Enough that he was on the ground, clutching his head and groaning in pain. Pain that _she_ had caused him.

A mix of a gasp and a sob escaped Chica. She started to reach for him. She stopped herself and drew her hands close to her like they were dangerous animals. It was because of these hands he was in this state. She had to keep them away from him. She'd hurt him, it was all her fault. She hadn't fixed anything, she'd made it worse.

It was too much. She couldn't be here anymore. She turned and she ran. She didn't care it was out of the back door, didn't care it was out of the pizzeria, didn't care she had no idea where she was going. If someone called for her, she didn't care about that either. She just had to get away. To run and run and run and run.

Just run.

* * *

For those of you shockingly may not know, the song at the beginning was My Favourite Things from the Sound of Music.

Hickorydaisy: You poor, naïve fool.

Arc of Carona: I hope so.

MurraySheWrote: You know, I'm actually tempted to do that.  
You've dealt with people like him before? XD

MajorVidGamer: *evil laugh* Ha, nope.  
And don't worry about it, I just have strong views on certain things. The prequels are one of them.

Lavender Hope: Nah, there's still some more details that need to be revealed yet but I am spoon feeding you the information.  
No, I was always going to do it. Freddy's isn't just the synths home, it's a place where people work. Thought it was high time to remember that. It's good that I have, but as you say it would be hard for him to meet them.  
Oh no question he'd have to.

DnWolfy: Golden told him she was lesbian in the chapter where he spoke to his dad.  
Possibly, not sure at this point. But this was to show that there are in fact other people working there.

Lord Zalgo: No one likes to be ridiculed and I'm glad to hear that's the case. I like writing her too, especially now she's trying to do better.


	7. Chicken Run

**Chicken Run**

Mike's brain registered things in flashes. Searing pain in his head. The cool breeze of the night air. The sound of rushing footsteps arriving. Worried voices.

"Chica?! Oh god, the door! She's gone!"

"Mike? Mike, lad!" Foxy crouched next to him "What in the devil happened here?!"

"It seems rather obvious to me."

"Golden, enough. Foxy, carry Mike back into the dinin' area. Get him sat down and get some ice. Bonnie, you stay right there."

"You can't be serious?! We've gotta go out there and find her!"

"And we will. But first we need to know what happened and try to form some kind of idea of what to do without runnin' blindly into the night. Go out into the street, see if you can spot her. If you do, pursue her. If not, you come straight back in here. It won't do anyone any good if you run off and get lost either. Understood?"

"But-!"

"Am I understood, Bonnie?"

"…Yeah." More footsteps and she was gone.

"Foxy, get him to the dinin' room. Mike, can you hear me? Stay calm, we've got you. We'll bring you around in no time, then you need to tell us what happened.

His response was a groan, thought that wasn't just from the pain.

Mike's head hurt. That was the only immediate thing he registered as he was hauled to his feet and carried to the dining area. He knew why it hurt and it only made it feel worse to know. He wanted to go after Chica, but he also knew she would be too fast for him and he had no idea where she'd run off to. So he let himself be carried and dropped into a chair. Moments later, he felt something cold touch his head.

Shame and self-loathing mingled with the pain. He'd done it again. He'd made the wrong choice and it had hurt someone. He'd ruined another friendship. Some part of him knew that was a dumb thing to do, but he'd done it anyway. It could have just been a hug or they could have gone back to the dining area or made a joke or anything else. But he had to go and kiss her.

He wasn't sure if he fully understood why.

"Ye alright there, lad?" asked Foxy. He splayed his hand. "How many fingers am I holdin' up?"

"Foxy… why do you have two of the same hands?"

"Right, not completely ship shape yet but I'll make sure yer alright, my friend. Don't ye worry," he assured.

"Nothing." Bonnie had returned. "Ran up and down the street, couldn't see her. See, if you hadn't been trying to get me mad this wouldn't have happened!"

"Are you really blaming me for this?" asked Golden incredulously.

"You bet I am!"

"And tell me, Bonnie, where do you take responsibility for anything that happened because I think it's unfair to make this so one sided."

"Both of you, enough!" commanded Freddy. "Who may or may not responsible isn't what's important right now. This doesn't help Chica. Let's at least gather some more facts." He knelt before Mike. "Son? I know this is probably goin' to be a little hard on you, but I need you to tell us what happened when you went to comfort Chica."

"Uh… I-I went to her. I t-told her it was going to be alright, th-that we could work out what h-happened. I thought she was doing fine, then…" He stopped. He didn't have the courage to tell them right out what had happened. "I… I did something stupid. That set her off. I t-tried to stop her but she… she pushed me away a-and… and she ran."

"What do ye mean ya did somethin' stupid?" asked Foxy.

"I…"

"You what? What did you do?!" demanded Bonnie.

Mike's shame grew. He knew it was wrong to try to keep this from them, but he just couldn't say. It was too much like last time.

"Mike." Golden's voice was calm. Firm. "You know as well as I do you have to take responsibility for what you do. Tell us what happened."

"I… I… I-I…" He didn't know how else to say it, but treated it like pulling off a band aid. "I-I tried t-to kiss her!"

"You what?!" Within a second Bonnie was on him. "Why the hell would you do something stupid like that?!"

"I-I don't know!" he cried. "I j-just did, I'm sorry!"

Bonnie's fists clenched. "Oh, you're gonna be sorry when I'm through with you!"

"Stand down, Bonnie!" Foxy stepped between her and Mike. "What good do ye think this is goin' to do?!"

"Get out of my way, Foxy!"

"No, I'm not lettin' ye do this!"

"If you don't get outta my way then-!"

"Then you're going to have to be prepared to go through him and me." Golden stood next to Foxy.

"I'm sorry, what part of that am I not supposed to like?" sneered Bonnie, slamming her fist into her palm.

"Foxy's right, Bonnie. However angry you might be at Mike won't do anything to change what's happened. I'm not saying what he did wasn't completely impulsive and stupid, but I think he knows that too."

"Then he shouldn't have done it!" Her eyes bore into Mike. "You didn't see the state you put her in after you turned her down! She was only just getting her head sorted out about it and you went and messed it up again!"

Mike didn't look at her.

"You know, it's no wonder you and the backstabber here are such good friends! You only care about yourselves! Doesn't matter about anyone else just as long as you get what you want!"

"SHUT UP!" roared Mike. He didn't know when he'd gotten to his feet, but he was. "Don't talk like this is all my fault! I get it, what I did was dumb and I'm sorry but I wasn't the only reason why Chica was in that state in the first place! Why do you think she was upset at all, huh?! Because that had nothing to do with me! What about what you did?!"

Bonnie was caught stunned by his sudden outburst so when she didn't immediately reply, Mike pressed his offensive.

"Everything tonight was down to her! She worked so hard to try bring everyone together but all night, she's had to watch you and Golden be at each other's throats! All she wanted to do tonight was to see everyone together again, but neither of you could give each other a real chance! Neither could let go of your feelings for one second and try to work past everything! Then everyone else gets dragged into it and now look what's happened! But no!" He threw his hands up in the air. "Guess it's easier to blame dumb old Mike for everything so why own up for anything you might have done, right?!"

It was strange how loud the silence was that followed. It was Bonnie's turn to look away in shame now as did Golden. Foxy's ears were drooped while he looked from one to the other. Freddy watched silently, but now he stepped in.

"I think perhaps we are in at fault here in some way. But Foxy made a point before. Throwin' blame around isn't goin' to do any good right now, especially not with findin' Chica. Right now, that is our most immediate priority. Go and get your clothes, the ones to cover up our animal parts. One of you make sure to get Chica's too. We have to get out there and find her quickly." Foxy and Bonnie moved to obey. "Golden, while you won't be able to leave with us, is there any other way you could help?"

"I can delve into the local surveillance network to help find her. Street cameras, store cameras pointed at the street, I could essentially cover the whole town by myself. But it'll be difficult to relay the information directly since Mike is the only one with a mobile phone and you can't exactly share it between you." She paused. "There's only one way I could that."

"Go on."

"You know what it is. I'd need to tap into your minds. Not on a deep level like when I was training you, but surface level access at least. Enough so you can hear my voice inside your heads so I can make information known to you as soon as it becomes available. The only problem with that is…"

"No way!" Bonnie was wearing her head band and jacket, thrusting a finger at Golden. "I am not letting _her_ into my head again!"

"And there it is."

"Can't ye just use that ta find Chica?" asked Foxy. "Get inta her head ta see where she is?"

She shook her head. "I already tried that, Foxy but she's blocked me out. Unless your minds are in a dormant state, I can't force my way in there unless you want me to. I don't know if Chica's fully aware she's prohibiting me access, but with the state she's probably in I don't think she's keen on letting anyone speak to her and certainly not get inside her head."

"Then that makes two of us!" snarled Bonnie.

Golden didn't reply immediately. She regarded Bonnie for a while, like she was carefully thinking about what to say next. Given her behaviour, Mike's first thought was some kind of smart aleck remark or barely veiled insult.

"Bonnie," she began evenly, "I understand that you don't want me to do this but there are no other options. We need to find her quickly and for that, you need my help. I can't leave the restaurant physically. Even if this body wasn't utterly conspicuous, it's too slow to keep up with any of you going at top speed and it's certainly not going to be performing acrobatic feats. My abilities are the fastest way we can hope to track her down and this is the only way I can relay the information to you. I know you don't trust me and to be frank you haven't been endearing yourself to me either. But this isn't about us. This is about finding her and bringing her back safely. I think that's something we can both understand."

Bonnie started to say something, but stopped. It was clear she wanted to protest against her, but it was a sound argument. She looked at Golden, then in the direction of the back door. In that particular moment, Mike saw her features cloud with worry and concern. They hardened again when she looked back at Golden.

"Fine. Do what you have to. Anything else and I tear that core out and stomp on it."

"Duly noted," she nodded. "Whenever you're all ready to go."

"Then we shall leave at once. Mike, I'm goin' to have to ask you to remain here," requested Freddy. "We'll move faster if it's just us and there needs to be at least one person keepin' an eye on the restaurant while we head out. Golden, perhaps you could use your talents to relay his phone through our mental network so he can be up to date on everythin' too?"

"Good idea," agreed Golden.

Mike silently conceded to that. Even though he felt guilty and wanted to join in with the search himself, if only to find Chica and apologise, he knew it was best he stayed here. Even if he may not like it all that much.

"Excellent. Right everyone, let's mosey!" he declared.

At his command, the three synths sprinted for the back door while Golden stood stiffly in place. A moment later, Mike's phone rang and the search for Chica had officially begun.

Bonnie allowed herself a moment to relish that they were once again out of the pizzeria before returning her thoughts to the task at hand. Freddy ordered them to halt when they made it across the street into an alley where they couldn't be seen.

"Right, while Golden does her scan, let's see if we can narrow down where she may have gone."

"But where could she go? She's never left the restaurant except fer…" Foxy's eyes widened in realisation. "Christmas."

"Exactly. Mike, tell us again where the two of you went that night," requested Freddy.

" _Okay uh, give me a sec_." Bonnie found it really weird to be hearing his voice in her head. " _There was a uh, a restaurant in the upper part of town. I-Italian, the uh… what was the name, um…_ "

"Yeah, it's fine, take your time, not like we're in a hurry or anything," remarked Bonnie icily.

" _D-Don't rush me_!" he retorted. " _I-It was uh… Sal's! Yeah, that was it! S-Sal's Famous Pizzeria! A-And an ice skating rink n-not too far from there_."

"Excellent, thank you, Mike. Golden?"

" _On it_." Hearing _that_ voice in her head, it was all Bonnie had to keep her anger in check. " _Right, got them. I have the cameras, but I still can't see her either of them. She could be somewhere their field of view doesn't cover so it would still be best if you checked them yourselves. I can direct you there when ready_."

"Good work. I'll go to the pizzeria. Bonnie, you make for the rink. Foxy, I want you to go on a circuit of the area in case either of those locations prove fruitless. With someone on the move, you'll be able to respond at once if Golden spots her somewhere else. Avoid the streets if you can. Stick to the shadows. Alleyways, rooftops, anythin' that'll keep someone spottin' you."

"Aye, aye sir!"

"I'm already on it."

With that, Bonnie turned to do something else she'd secretly always wanted to do: using her powerful legs, she bounded up to a fire escape and hauled herself up. Another bounding leap and she was on the rooftops.

" _Bonnie, turn around_." Keeping down another sarcastic remark, Bonnie did so. " _Straight across that way. This'll actually help you get there a little faster if you can keep that pace. Now hurry_!"

"Yeah, 'cause I was just gonna go at a leisurely pace," she muttered and set off at a sprint.

It was her emotions fuelling her, pushing her limits. Worry for Chica, out here somewhere, distraught and on her own. Sure, she'd been upset before. When they found out they couldn't perform without their suits, the whole thing with Foxy, having her heart broken twice. But she'd never done anything like this.

Frustration for Golden, laughing and joking with _her_ friends like she hadn't gone and betrayed them. Twice! And she and everyone else just thought that was all well and good just so long as she was very sorry?! After she'd turned against them, held Mike hostage, tried to kill them, gotten inside their heads and twisted their emotions against themselves! Just her sitting there with them was enough to make her mad! Now she was in her head, nestled there like a talkative tumour!

Anger at Mike, the idiot! What the hell had made him think that was an okay thing to do?! He was the one who'd turned her down first, but now he'd done this?! The things she would do… maybe put actual laxatives in his coffee. Or maybe just give him a bruise on each arm. Or jam a clothes peg onto those dumb lips of his. That'd keep him from using them again.

There was also a little loathing for herself. Even though she tried to rationalise in her head that it was Golden who had been provoking her the whole time or that it was Mike's stupid fault for kissing her, she could never completely drown out that small voice that reminded her she was as much to blame. And she called herself Chica's best friend…

But wasn't going to let those thoughts get to her. First, she had to find Chica. Then she could be mad at anyone she felt like.

" _Bonnie_?" It was Golden again. She didn't reply, but Golden took her silence as an indicator to carry on. " _I want you to know that… I'm sorry. I know I was doing a fair bit to get under your skin. Humility has never really been my strong suit. I'll try to do better in future_."

" _Whatever_ ," she replied mentally. Like she was actually going to believe that.

She groaned. " _Bonnie, I am attempting to make amends with you. Can you at least be somewhat receptive of that?_ "

" _Why should I? You know what you did_ ," she retorted.

" _But I'm trying to apologise for my behaviour towards you. Doesn't that count for something_?"

" _No, it doesn't. You don't get off that easy, not after everything you've done_!"

" _You have every right to be angry with me, but how can I begin to make up for everything I've done if you won't give me a chance to do so_?"

" _What the hell makes you think you even deserve a chance_?!"

A few seconds of silence, then, _"Why do you resent me so much, Bonnie?"_

That somehow made Bonnie even angrier. _"You know, how about I come back and just stomp on your AI core right now!"_

" _I know I've done some bad things, but you in particular seem to have it out for me. What is it exactly you hate me for?"_

" _You want a list?!"_

" _You always were rather guarded about what you're actually feeling."_

" _Like you care!"_ Bonnie spat fiercely.

" _Ah, so it's something to do with that,"_ she noted. _"Has what I've done impacted you like that?"_

" _Stop talking to me!"_

" _Bonnie, I understand how you feel but_ -"

"SHUT UP! NO, YOU DON'T!" She didn't care she was now saying this out loud and not in her head. "Stop trying to psyche analyse me! Stop trying to be my friend! That crap might work on Mike, but you're not gonna pull it with me! Either just let me know I'm going the right way or shut your mouth!"

Thankfully, that worked. Golden didn't try to engage her conversation after that, only speaking to either modify her directions or warn her that someone might spot her if she went any further and to wait until they passed.

That whole thing just left Bonnie feeling even angrier and with a strong desire to punch Golden several times in her smart-ass animatronic face. She could never just let people keep things to themselves, she always had to know. Well, if she really wanted to know what Bonnie thought of her, she was more than happy to tell her.

Before long, she spotted her destination. The ice rink looked like it was closed, but the place was still lit up. Bounding stealthily over the rooftops and across the road, she dashed towards it and began to scan the immediate area. She looked up at a camera perched on the side of a building nearby.

" _I'm altering footage if they spot you_ ," Golden told her. " _No one will be any the wiser if they look at it. The view is obstructed behind the hut where they keep the skates and take customers, try checking there first._ "

Verbally, Bonnie ignored her but she sprinted over to look anyway. She ran around where the booth jutted away from the rink and an archway formed the entrance to the ice. The gate was shut and a shadow was being cast from the lights that illuminated the rink and were blocked by the booth. But thanks to her enhanced vision, Bonnie could see fine. And it didn't take her long before she spotted a flash of yellow, nestled between the wall of the rink and the hut.

"Cheeks!" she exclaimed. "I found her, she's here!"

" _Good work, Bonnie! I'll tell the others. Try talking to her_."

" _Don't tell me what to do with my friend and keep those two back for now. I'll handle this_ ," she replied harshly. She jogged over to her. "Cheeks, there you are. Didn't think you'd be able to cover ground this fast."

Chica didn't reply. She didn't even look up. She was huddled away in the corner, with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head buried between them. She didn't seem to be crying, but this silence was somehow worse.

"The others'll be here soon. Mike, he… well, he told us what he did. Freaking perv, right?" Still nothing. "This place looks pretty cool. Wouldn't mind trying a little ice skating. Bit surprised you can manage it without falling over, you klutz." She laughed a bit and smiled hopefully. Again, nothing. She took a couple of steps closer and crouched down. "How comes you came here? I mean, there's not many other places you could go but why here?"

Silence endured for longer than Bonnie would have preferred. Still, she didn't try and press Chica to answer. She just waited until her friend was ready to speak. Even if that waiting was driving her nuts. Eventually, she did speak though her voice was muffled since she still didn't look up.

"It was all perfect." Her voice was devoid of its usual compassion. It reminded Bonnie of the dead tone she'd used when she and Foxy had come to her. "We had a new night guard and friend. He brought back Foxy. We were starting to get popular again. Then, for the first time in our lives, we finally stepped outside the restaurant. Into the world." She shifted her head slightly, angling it to the rink. A hint of feeling came to her voice again. "When I came out that night… I was scared. Terrified. But before long, it was like a dream come true. I f-finally had a sweet, caring, handsome young man take me on a… on a date. We had such a wonderful time together. And after we were done… w-we kissed under the mistletoe."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "You're kidding?"

"No. It was right there. M-My first kiss." She pointed to a spot under the arch. "It was all so perfect. I thought I-I'd finally found the one. Who didn't care I-I wasn't human and thought I was… normal." There was the faintest hint of happiness as she said this, but it was like a long past echo that in the next moment was gone. "Then reality came back. Just because it was tradition, w-we said. I was so scared to even mention it again, so I kept quiet. I tried to hold onto that moment, that dream as I saw it in my mind r-rather than risk hearing the truth." She shook her head. "Such a coward…"

"No, you're not," dismissed Bonnie.

"Yes, I am," she replied at once in a hard tone. "I thought if I waited, maybe then he'd tell me how he really felt. That he'd choose me because things could only get better. But I was wrong again. Everything started to go bad again after that. The break-in. Golden's return. M-My dream of me and Mike… shattered. Even after all that had passed, things came to a standstill with Golden and all of us. I thought that… I'd be able to change things this time. To stop being a coward, to stop wishing to be confident like you and actually do it. Try to make things better myself rather than standing aside and waiting for it to happen. Standing on the side-lines when things get tough like I always do. I tried… and look what happened."

She raised her head slightly. Her features appeared to be only just now matching the anger burning in her eyes. Though the anger didn't seem to be directed at Bonnie.

"Why even try? Because every time I have tried to step in myself, what do I get? I try to reach out to Foxy, I get scarred! I try to tell Mike how I feel, he breaks my heart! I try to make things right with Golden and everyone, but it all falls apart! Every time I get my hopes up, they get crushed again and again! Tell me, Bonnie, why should I hope for anything anymore?! Why should I care?! Nothing ever stays good for me or for any of us and whenever I try to make a difference, it never works and I always get hurt!" Her expression became melancholy. "I wish I was just a machine. Then I would never get hurt."

"NO!" Bonnie had heard enough. "Don't you even start to think that! Last time I talked to you like this, I meant it when I said I when I want to be more like you because you're better than me! That's because… because you _are_ better than me!"

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are! Because all those times you talked about, you were way braver than I could ever be! I never tried to help Foxy, I've never tried for romance and I never gave Golden a chance! I was… I…" She closed her fists, shut her eyes and yelled, "BECAUSE I WAS TOO SCARED!"

It was amazing how the running here had barely exhausted her, but it was that admission that had her breathing like she had just run a marathon. She let her eyes crack open to see Chica staring at her in amazement.

"Bonnie…" she whispered.

"I've always been like that," she went on, not managing to keep her eyes fixed on Chica and instead directing them to the side. "And it's because of her!" She sucked in her breath again to keep her voice from shaking, but only partially succeeded. "She was always telling me, back in training, that I had value on my own and that I had genuine talent and spirit and stuff like that. I actually believed her. I told her to not breathe a word to any of you. I didn't want any of you to see me… like _that_. Before she turned on us, when she was starting to go bad… she started telling me that none of it was worth a damn. Just to get at me. Never said it outright, but she didn't have to. I knew what she meant. She did too."

She turned her back on Chica. She could feel something trickle down her cheeks.

"When she finally t-turned on us, it made me question everything. Everything she e-ever taught me and told me about myself. I started t-to think 'no, Bonnie it wasn't all you. Your own teacher and friend never thought you were worth anything. Not a damn thing!' Compared to me, you all seemed s-so much bigger and better! I-If she never had real confidence in me, h-how could…!" She didn't try to control the shaking in her voice anymore. "I-It hurt so much… d-didn't want it… n-not a-again…"

She bowed her head and fell to her knees. Her arms felt too weak to cover her face. They hung limply at her sides. Her body shook, wracked with sobs when she finally let the tears fall freely. She felt so pathetic like this, so vulnerable…

That was when a gentle, comforting pressure encompassed her from the back. Arms wrapped around her and clasped at her front. Being pulled towards something soft and warm. Bonnie flinched at the contact and her body tensed, but the hold didn't lessen. She let her friend hold her.

After a while, Bonnie turned around. Chica was there, her face only a few inches away. That compassion she radiated like the sun did its light was present again. It was almost enough to set Bonnie off again. All the stuff she'd just said about everything she'd been through and Chica still found it within herself to care. And she thought she was the weak one?

"Oh, Bonnie…" She used her apron to wipe her tears away.

" _Bonnie_." Golden's voice was heavy with emotion. " _I'm… I'm so sorry. I know it may not mean much but I am. I was angry and bitter when I said those things. I never meant any of it. The same goes for you, Chica_."

"It's okay, Golden," she said softly.

"She said stuff to you too?" Chica nodded. "And… you're willing to just forgive her for that?"

"Forgiving someone and giving them another chance aren't the same thing, Bonnie," she replied. "She has to use that chance to earn her forgiveness."

Bonnie stared at her. "But… how can you just do that?"

"Because what's the alternative?" she asked. "What would things be like if I never gave people who wronged me another chance? And while it may not have been right, I can understand why Golden acted the way she did. Imagine if it was you. If you had never gotten your synthetic body while we all had. All the physical experiences we've been able to have and you'd never be able to share in them. How would you feel?"

Her words made Bonnie think and the more she did, the more she realised that she was right. If it had been her, she would have seen it as unfair. She would be angry and while she tried to tell herself that she wouldn't have done what Golden had done…

Then that whole thing about forgiveness. If she'd never done it with David, she would likely still be distant with him. If she hadn't done it with Foxy, she would barely be able to be around him. If she hadn't done it with her, with Bonnie…

In that moment, she came to realise something. Chica had seen the worst parts of herself more than once. Not just the past couple of weeks, but many times. Any time she'd said something hurtful. When she'd been angry or upset for any reason. Yet Chica had never truly abandoned her. In time, she'd forgiven her and accepted it. She'd never stopped being her friend. Her faith in Bonnie never wavered.

And neither had Bonnie. Anytime Chica had needed her, she'd been there too. When her heart had been broken by David. When Foxy had scarred her. And here and now, in the cold winter air next to an ice skating rink she'd been the first to find her. Here they were, leaning on one another for support.

Chica had tried to be more like how she saw Bonnie. She'd tried to be bold, to take the first step. Maybe it was time she tried to do the same.

"Golden? Listen up," she said out loud. "Don't think for a second I'm letting you off. I still hate your guts for what you did to us. If you wanna get back in with us, you gotta work at it. Don't expect you and me to become best buds overnight. But if you do try, then… I guess I can too."

" _You can't say fairer than that_ ," agreed Golden. " _And I'll try to take whatever you might say with a grain of salt. Well, maybe more than a grain. The point is, I won't be trying to get under your skin. I realise I have a lot to make up for. But I promise you, I will try."_

"You'd better." Bonnie yelped a little when Chica gave her another hug. "Hey, what's this for?"

"I'm so proud of you, Bonnie!" she enthused.

"Hey, it's no big deal," she muttered, squirming a little.

"Yes, it is." She beamed at her. "Thank you, Bonnie. And if you ever need a little support, I'm always here for you."

"Yeah, well, same to you."

Something occurred to Bonnie. Perhaps there was something she could say right now. Or sing.

" _Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I know you…"_

" _Because I know you…"_ sang Chica and together:

" _I have been changed for good."_

A small round of applause started. Foxy and Freddy had arrived on the scene.

"There ye are, lass!" Foxy ran up and scooped up Chica in a hug of his own right off her feet. "Gave us a real fright there, runnin' off like that!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Foxy!" she laughed. "Now please put me down?"

"Not a chance, Chica," he chortled. "Yer not goin' anywhere now."

"I don't believe that will be necessary, Foxy," chuckled Freddy. "Though we are most relieved to see you safe and sound, Chica."

"Thank you, Freddy." She looked shamefaced. "I'm really sorry for all I've put you through."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you fret. We're sorry for how things turned out.

"Yeah, speaking of which," Bonnie said, folding her arms, "about the little idiot back at the restaurant. Wait, can he hear us?"

" _I blocked him from hearing anything you may have said there before,"_ said Golden.

"Bonnie, please, it's not all Mike's fault," she placated. "I've been… confused about my feelings for him for the past week. I wasn't sure how to behave around him and I don't think he was either. H-He said he wanted to be friends, but there were moments I thought… I didn't know what to think."

"How come ye never said anythin' about it, lass?" asked Foxy. "I even asked ye meself, but ya said ye were fine."

"Yeah, I did too," chimed in Bonnie.

"I-It didn't seem very important considering what was happening with Golden," she answered quietly. "It just seemed r-rather silly compared to that."

"Now, that is silly," said Freddy, though not harshly. "Chica, your selflessness is really somethin' special but there is such a thing as bein' too selfless. Your feelin's are important too and if somethin' is troublin' you, you are very much entitled to talk about it. We're here for you, alright? Don't let these things get bottled up inside."

"Hear, hear!" barked Foxy.

"I wasn't given these just for eavesdropping," said Bonnie, waggling her ears.

"Alright," she agreed, feeling comforted by their displays of compassion. "Thank you, everyone."

"Still, if Mike was making your head messed up, he's still got hell to pay with me," claimed Bonnie.

" _Yes, Mike isn't entirely blameless and he is a bit of an idiot. However, may I suggest you save whatever you may have to say to Mike until after you come back?_ "

"Yeah, guess so," conceded Bonnie. "Let's get outta here."

Chica gazed for a moment at the spot she'd indicated to Bonnie before. She let out a small sigh before looking around at everyone. Foxy gave her a grin and Freddy an approving nod.

When her eyes came to Bonnie, she gave Chica her trademark smirk. In her own way, she looked like she tried to mimic it but settled on her usual heart-warming smile. Then, she got to her feet and began their journey home.

* * *

Once again, a number from Wicked was sung by everyone. That was For Good. I won't deny I got a little teary eyed doing that.

Arc of Carona: They certainly did.

Hickorydaisy: Thank you.

MajorVidGamer: How was that for you?

MurraySheWrote: HA XD  
Whatever floats your boat.  
That is a thing indeed.  
Because he's an idiot.

Lord Zalgo: Yeah, Bonnie sometimes doesn't know when to put a lid on it. And Foxy is just torn between his best friend and Goldie.

lyokowarrior1999: I'm pleased to hear that.

DnWolfy: I'm happy everyone found that funny so far.  
That's usually how conflicts happen.  
Again, he's an idiot.  
Thank you, I was aiming for that.

Lavender Hope: That was a stroke of inspiration I'm pleased I had XD Well don't forget that she has access to the internet and she actually has a fast processing speed. A second in our time could be several hours in her time if she chooses.  
Too much for even her to bear.

ChickenNicker: Oh Chick, how I have missed your insights!  
I'm not sure. If you treat her right, maybe she would consider it…  
Trust me, this isn't the first time Mike has made a poor decision with a woman and screwed things up because of it.

Monkey999Boy: I suppose that does make sense. I don't gold would be his colour XD  
Stop saying tsundere!

Csquid: If you heartstrings are damaged, please consult your doctor or look at photos of kittens and puppies. This author denies all responsibility for damage that feels have caused to the reader.

Zanza Flux: I felt that she'd gone largely overlooked in terms of character development and this seemed like a good opportunity for some.  
There is a reason why Golden was never really thought of much for what would happen after, but I won't go into that.  
Oh yeah, I never actually considered that. Good insight.  
Talking always helps.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: In regards to your previous review, don't worry about it. You're forgiven  
She's one of those people whose too clever for their own good to the point where they think everything they say is pure gold. Pun intended.  
Bonnie has always been rather guarded against personal slights, even more so from someone she blatantly doesn't trust.  
Freddy likes to be the one who gives people a fair chance, even in a simple guessing game.  
Because magic plot reasons.  
Very true.


	8. Know What You Want

**Know What You Want**

Mike couldn't stay still. When he stood, he paced around the tables. When he sat, he folded and unfolded his legs, usually one of them twitching nervously. The whole time his ear was pressed to his phone, ready to give any other help he could or else receive updates from the search party.

There were more than a few moments of tension. Foxy almost got hit by a car as he sprinted across the street, news which he told with more than a few expletives for the driver. Freddy had to slow his pace to a stroll when someone almost spotted him. Fortunately, the man in question was quite drunk and Freddy was able to swiftly lose him.

Then came the moment when Bonnie reported she'd found her. Mike held the phone as close as he possibly could, but in that moment the static of the call ended abruptly. He glanced at the phone in confusion until Golden spoke from her suit.

"I've muted the line from your end. Bonnie's going to talk to Chica and she's made it clear she wants to do it by herself. That means she may not want certain ears listening in."

"Oh." Mike put the phone down. "So… y-you're not listening in either?"

"I never said that," she replied.

Mike started to argue about how that wasn't fair and it was hypocritical, but he stopped himself. He wasn't in the mood for this. Instead, his guilt reared its ugly head again and eventually, after a long drawn out silence, made him slam his on the dining room table.

"And there goes a few more brain cells," remarked Golden.

"This is all my fault!" he cried.

"Like you said, Mike, the blame doesn't rest solely with you," she reminded him.

"I know, but it was me that set her off!" he shouted. "God that was such a stupid thing to do!"

"Now, I know that convention demands that try to comfort you by saying otherwise, but I'm afraid I can't. You're right, what you did was utterly and completely stupid," she said bluntly.

"Thanks," Mike deadpanned.

She shrugged. "Well, it was. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. Now, what I would like to know is why you would do something like that?"

"I did what you suggested! I talked to other people, to figure out what I should do! My dad said I shouldn't let the fact she's a synth stop me from giving her a chance based on that! Susie said that if I thought I had a chance with someone else, I-I should take it because that's the best way to move on! I just thought that… I figured if… I wanted…!"

Mike sagged forward and planted his head in his hands. No matter what way he tried to argue for what he'd done, it sounded utterly stupid.

"Go on," Golden prompted. "You thought what?"

"I don't know," he murmured. "I thought… I guess to me, I-I thought th-there might be a chance there. Wh-When I was with her b-before, I mean. She c-called me sweet for c-caring. S-So… I took it b-before I could stop myself by th-thinking about it more."

"For the record, you should have thought about it more," remarked Golden.

"I know, I know!" he groaned loudly.

"No really, you should have. If you had been turned down by someone you like and then about a week later they suddenly expressing interest in you again, you wouldn't take kindly to that, I take it?"

Mike wanted to say that there would at least be one person he would be fine with allowing to do that, that he would accept them if they did. But he knew Golden would shoot that down if he brought it up and he had a feeling she expected him to. Even then, he thought, that wouldn't be the complete truth.

"…No," he admitted eventually. "I… I'd think they w-were toying with m-me or something. I-I'd be really thrown o-off."

"Exactly and you can make that double for Chica. She might be an utter sweetheart and probably better with children than their own mothers, but I'm afraid spontaneity has never really been her strongest suit. If something new comes along, she needs time to get herself accustomed to it and she can get easily stressed if the situation suddenly changes."

"Yeah," nodded Mike, "I know the feeling."

"Hold on." She was quiet for a little bit. When she spoke again, her voice was laden with emotion. "Sorry, I… I had to say something to Bonnie. I honestly never thought that I would…"

"W-What is it?" asked Mike.

She didn't answer Mike immediately.

"It can wait, I'll tell you later. But anyway, back to Chica," she went on, putting on her usual tone again. "I can recall one time during their training when I was testing their ability to recover from unexpected complications. During their shows, when inhabiting animatronics individually and as a group, I would have a few of them randomly shut down to see how they could react to the situation. For the most part they performed well, able to quickly to supply alternative forms of entertainment to pick up the slack or expanding their own roles. Chica though…

She shook her head. "Poor thing. At first she went to see if there was anything wrong with her bandmates and why they'd suddenly frozen on the spot. Then, it would set in that she was on her own and she'd freeze too. She would try to speak, but she'd have no idea what she was supposed to say or do. You'd have thought she'd broken down too. In the end, I had to pull her out of there myself and she wouldn't go back on the stage for about a week after that. Started to think she was a failure of a performer."

"Wow," murmured Mike. "D-Did you have t-to test them like that?"

"Mike, even in a show performed by synthetics, unexpected things can happen and performers need to be able to show they can go on when everything doesn't go according to plan. You see it in normal shows. Someone forgets their line or a prop breaks or the sound blows out, these sort of things happen in a show. I remember when I was still Fredabear and one excited little boy ended up pulling my arm off by swinging about on it too much. I was able to do a whole routine about it before I was taken off to be fixed." If she could smile, Mike imagined she would be at the memory. "I told that to Chica too. But what happened to her didn't make her a failure. It was just something she needed to work at as best she could and if she couldn't, it would be very unlikely the entire band would shut down as they did. There would always be someone she could count on if things got bad and she took comfort in that."

She was quiet again. "Sorry, Bonnie was addressing me. My point is Chica isn't really one to think on her feet quickly. If things don't go according to plan and there's no one she can fall back on, she panics. She finds it difficult to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances quickly. I can imagine that her plan to bring us all together failing coupled with you suddenly kissing her was just too much. There might be more to it than that, but that's what I can gather."

"Y-Yeah," conceded Mike.

"Indeed. Now, Mike, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to answer me honestly. Say by some miracle that your hare-brained move worked and Chica would have melted in your arms, would that be what you really want? Would you want to go to the next level with her?"

Mike was quiet for a long time while he considered his answer. The easiest response would be no, but after everything, he didn't feel right saying that. It didn't feel like the honest answer, if it ever was. But he wasn't completely comfortable saying yes either and with recent events, it seemed even less likely.

But when he did give his reply, he did his best to convey what he felt.

"W-Well… I'm still kind of, you know, a-after Lidiya?" Golden nodded and motioned for him to continue. "B-But I-I guess that i-If Chica was to uh, y-you know then… m-maybe?"

"I see. Mike, I'm not going to tell you what you should do but-" She cut herself off, then resumed. "Bonnie again. Right, where was I? Oh yes. You need to figure this out for yourself. I will say this though. If there's one thing I've learned being with you it's that you can't hold on to the past forever."

"Y-Yeah." He groaned again. "God, I'm such an idiot…"

"We all do stupid things from time to time, Mike. It's best not to linger on them. When she comes back, just be honest with her. She doesn't need a boyfriend right now, but I think she could certainly use a friend," she advised.

Mike nodded, but said nothing. They both waited in silence for the others to return, Mike going over in his head what he was going to say to Chica. All the while, he tried to keep in mind what Golden had just told him: be honest. But how could he be honest when he didn't even really know what he wanted?

But then again, the more he thought about it, the more he began to see things a little differently. Yes, he still held onto feelings for Lidiya and regret for what might have been, but it had been so long since another woman had expressed that kind of interest in him. He'd forgotten how… nice it felt. Plus, Chica was a great person. She might not be human, but really so what?

Still, he'd be surprised if he had any kind of chance with being her friend after what had happened, let alone try for a relationship. It was just another factor that had him waiting on tenterhooks for them to arrive back.

He whirled around when he heard the back door open. He started for it, but immediately backpedalled when Bonnie strode towards him with a fierce expression, her eyes fixed on him like predatory beast.

"W-Wait a sec-!"

"Oh, I've waited a lot more than a second for this," she growled. "Now, you're gonna-!"

"Bonnie, no." Chica didn't shout, but her voice carried weight regardless. "Leave him alone."

Bonnie wavered on the spot, then relaxed her tensed posture. She still gave Mike a hostile glare while she withdrew with the others. Chica glanced around at Freddy, who nodded.

"Right, everyone, I think these two need a little space. Come along now," he ushered, making for the back room.

Golden followed in his wake as he passed. Foxy gave Mike a couple of pats on the shoulder when he walked by and an encouraging smile. Bonnie threw him a warning look that said 'don't try anything or you're dead.' Mike gulped and put his hands behind his back, as if to show he wasn't going to do anything with them.

The door closed behind them. It was only him and Chica. The awkward silence that followed didn't last for very long.

"I'm sorry!" Mike blurted out. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Chica! I just… I didn't mean to… I'm sorry…" He stared at her shoes.

"Mike?" She didn't sound angry or upset. "Please, look up at me."

When Mike dared to look at Chica, she was gazing almost unflinchingly at him. Occasionally her eyes would dart to the floor or one of her friends, but otherwise her violet pools were fixed on him. There appeared to be no trace of resentment in her eyes or expression. More like a longing to understand.

"Why did you do it?" she asked. "Please understand, I'm not angry with you. But you were the one who said that we… we should be friends."

"I know, I know," he groaned. "But then I… I don't know. I was confused for a while after. Then I was talking to some people and everything they said… I-I wasn't thinking straight. N-No, I wasn't thinking. I just… acted."

"I see." That didn't seem to satisfy her. "What do you mean by confused?"

"I… I don't even know." Even he was getting tired of saying that. "I know I said I w-wanted to be friends, b-but then… n-no one's shown, you know, i-i-interest for a r-really long time. E-Especially not someone l-like you."

"S-Someone like me?" she repeated.

Mike internally winced and wished he hadn't said that. He tried to think of a way to take it back, but then he remembered what Golden told him: be honest.

"Yeah. You're… you're a-a great person, Chica. You care so much about people a-and you're really nice a-and I know it's genuine. Y-You've got a great voice, y-you're an amazing cook. You're f-fun to be around, like, I just f-feel really comfortable around you. W-Well, I mean until…" He didn't add to that and hurriedly added. "I-I think it's really neat you're i-into Disney a-and stuff like that. You're a-amazing with kids. Y-You appreciate th-the things I do a-and my art and uh… you're uh… you're beautiful!"

He blurted out that last bit and looked away from her again. He stole a glance at her, noting how her cheeks were faintly blue and a smile was tugging at her lips.

"You… really mean all of that, Mike?" she asked.

Mike only nodded this time, afraid of what else might come tumbling from his mouth.

"Oh, Mike…" She sighed. "I appreciate you being honest with me, but… I don't think I'm really ready for… _that_ yet."

"O-Oh…" he uttered.

"I'm sorry, Mike, but… I think we both need some time to work things out. I still think you're a sweetheart, but after what happened tonight… I'm not really sure about what my feelings are towards you at the moment. A-And I don't think you are either," she added. "I-I remember what you told me. About what happened to you."

"Y-Yeah," he nodded.

"Then you understand," she said. "We both need some time to really think and adjust to one another. So, we're definitely agreed this time. We start as friends but maybe, just _maybe_ … we see it where it goes?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "I-I'm good with that."

"So am I. I don't want things to be awkward between us, Mike." She fell silent for a bit, then, "Could I ask you to do something for me?"

"Sure you can. What is it?" he asked.

"Well, you seem to know a lot about things I don't. Movies and things like that," she clarified. "Being in here we can't exactly go to the theatre and more than once, I've had the children talking to me about things that I don't fully understand. So if that happens, could I come to you and a-ask about it?"

"Yeah!" Mike said with more excitement than he intended. "S-Sorry, I really like explaining about stuff like that."

"I can tell," she laughed. "I think it's good that you do. It shows how passionate you are about it and it's always good to be passionate about something."

"So long as you're uh, not shoving it in people's faces right?" he asked.

"Exactly," she affirmed brightly.

"If y-you do want to know more about stuff like that, I uh, I actually do have a recommendation for you," he brought up. "Sometime, go ask Freddy for the first book in the Harry Potter series. He's got all of them, gave them to him for Christmas."

"Ah, there's something that more than one child has brought up to me," she recalled. "Are they any good?"

"You'll love them. I hope," he added.

"I'm sure I'll enjoy them. Thank you, Mike."

"N-No problem."

Silence fell between them, but it didn't feel awkward and Mike was happy to just smile at Chica while she smiled back. Then she did something he didn't expect. She held out her arms in a clear gesture of offering him a hug. Mike only hesitated for a moment before taking it. He'd missed this. Neither of them said anything while they held each other.

Then they jumped apart when the backstage door flew open and Foxy came sprinting out with a big slap on the back for Mike that left him doubled over.

"Mike, lad! Why didn't ya tell us what day it was taday?!" he enthused cheerfully. "Happy birthday, my trusty first mate!"

"It's your birthday?" gasped Chica.

"Thanks," he groaned.

"Golden just informed us," explained Freddy. "I know things have been rather rickety tonight, but I for one don't think it needs to end that way."

"Quite so," nodded Golden.

"Aw, Mike. You really should have said something. This could have been your birthday party. We never allow a birthday to go uncelebrated at Freddy's," commented Chica.

"Aye, but who says it still can't be?" proposed Foxy. "Like Freddy said, best not if we leave the evenin' on a sombre note and there's still a couple-a hours left. I say we not let 'em go ta waste, I do!"

"B-But… I messed up," pointed out Mike.

"Yeah, you did," agreed Bonnie. "But I guess we aren't exactly, you know, blameless about what happened either and it's a pretty jerky thing to just ignore somebody's birthday. Like Chica said, we don't do that at Freddy's. Even if it is for a pervy idiot."

"Thanks. I-I'm sorry, Bonnie."

"Should be," she sniffed. "But yeah, like I said I was kinda… well yeah." She managed a small smile. "I'll get over it. Just watch your back for the next few days and if you try anything like that again and I found out Chica's not happy about it..."

Mike gulped again. "R-Right."

"Now, now, Bonnie, there's no need for that," said Freddy.

"Are you serious, boss?" she complained.

"Yes. Because if Mike does do such a thing again, it won't be you that he'll have to worry about." He gazed sternly at Mike. "Now, I realise that it is your birthday and I acknowledge that you've done a great deal for us in the past and since you and Chica have clearly resolved the matter, I shall endeavour to be lenient this time. But I warned you before that you would have me to answer to if you betrayed the trust of myself, Bonnie or Chica and now by extension Foxy. That very much stands. Understood?"

Mike didn't reply verbally this time, only silently nodded.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other."

"Freddy, I've already given him a talk that what he did was stupid," put in Golden. "I think he's had enough for now."

"I know, I merely wanted to reiterate my point. We're done now," said Freddy.

"Now ta the depths with all-a this nonsense! Let's have ourselves a celebration!" cheered Foxy.

It was a little slow going to get the atmosphere back to something less hostile, but with the music from Bonnie's mixtape and the boundless energy of Foxy encouraging everyone their little party was able to get going again. Chica did her bit too, whipping up some new party snacks and allowing Foxy to literally sweep her off her feet onto the dance floor. Even Freddy put himself out there, putting on his goofier persona he reserved for the children.

"Hey there, Mike!" he chuckled. "Hope you're ready to have yourself a real good time!"

"Uh… thanks?" said Mike unsurely.

"No problem, buddy! After all, I just want you to be bear-y happy on your special day!"

Both Bonnie and Golden groaned at the same time.

"Thirty years I've been in shutdown and despite that, my brother's ability to butcher the English language hasn't changed a bit," she complained.

"I know, right?" agreed Bonnie. "Sometimes he just goes on these whole parades of puns that never seem to end."

"Especially the bear ones?"

"Especially the bear ones," confirmed Bonnie.

"Come now, you two! No need to look quite so furr-ious!" chuckled Freddy. "I'm sure it's not that un _bear_ able! You just need to grin and _bear_ it!"

"This is my penance," remarked Golden. "This is what I must endure."

"Don't you mean be-?"

"Do not attempt to infect me with your puns!" she cried.

"At the very least come up with some new ones!" heckled Bonnie.

"Ooh, this is just like that time I performed to some cow carcasses in a butcher's shop. They were a _tough_ crowd and there was lots at _steak_!" he joked while they complained louder. "Sorry ladies, did that last one not _cut_ it for you? The one good thing was there was lots of people to _meat_!"

"Cut it out!" Golden clutched her mouth. "Oh no, it's happened. It's spread to me."

"Good, I got one more reason I can hit you," remarked Bonnie.

"I would certainly deserve it," returned Golden.

"Yeah." Bonnie abruptly walked off to talk with Chica.

Golden didn't try and get her to come back, but somehow Mike could tell she was pleased to have at least made a little progress. But she seemed to know not to push Bonnie.

Mike ended up talking with Chica at one point too. Making good on her request, she'd asked him to remind her about a subject related to what he had been drawing and she wanted to know more about. Mike was only too happy to tell her.

"Well, what I was drawing was from Green Lantern but she wasn't a Green Lantern. She was a Star Sapphire," he explained.

"Um, what's the difference?" she asked. "What actually is a Green Lantern?"

"It's a uh, a comic series," he went on. "They're a galactic group of law enforcers and they use these powerful green rings to channel their power. Basically, anything they can imagine can be projected from the ring as a form of green energy."

"So…" She thought for a moment. "If I were wearing one of these rings and I thought of a pizza, would the ring make that?"

"Yeah, anything. They don't use it to make food though since the energy constructs don't last. They use them to fight. They make things like giant fists or swords or guns."

"But you said it's powered by their imagination. Those things don't seem very, well, imaginative," she pointed out.

"I know," agreed Mike. "But it's still really cool. They can use their rings to fly around in space and they have a pledge that they all need to recite. It's um… in brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. To those who worship…" He trailed off when he noticed Chica suppressing laughter. "W-What?"

"Nothing, it's just… that's so adorable that you know something like that," she giggled. Mike suddenly felt rather self-conscious and fell silent. "No, no, don't stop, say the rest!"

"B-But I feel stupid saying it now," he muttered.

"You should be, nerd!" called Bonnie.

"Pay her no mind, Mike. I really do think it's cute. Remember what I said about being passionate about things? Come on, let's do the rest. I'll say it with you. Let's see… in brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight…"

"Let those who worship evil's might," continued Mike in a low voice, "beware my power, Green Lantern's light."

"There you go! You'd make a fine Green Lantern!" she praised. "So, what's a Star Sapphire then? Do they have magic rings too?"

"Uh yeah, b-but they're different. The Lanterns embody and channel their willpower a-and the Sapphires uh… they're love."

"Aw, that sounds like the ones I'd want to be with." She hesitated, then struck a pose with her hands on her hips. "What do you think? W-Would I make a good Star Sapphire?"

An image flashed in Mike's mind of Chica dressed in what was essentially the purple one piece swimsuit uniform, matching long gloves and high boots of a Star Sapphire. His face grew warm and he ended up muttering out a yes, but quickly moving the subject along.

By the time they cleaned up the mess and got ready to open up the restaurant for the day's business, Mike felt really good about things. He didn't leave straight away, but waited by the front desk. He had a feeling that a certain someone would want to know about recent events and she would probably get it out of him at some point. Might as well be now.

"Hey there, Mike," greeted Susie. "How'd things go? You talk to that person you mentioned?"

"Yeah, I did," he answered. "I-I think things are a little better now."

"Well that's… hey, what's this?" She was looking at something on Mike's chest and he realised he hadn't taken off the birthday badge. "Hey, why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?!"

"It didn't s-seem-"

"Mike, you'd better not say that it wasn't important," she cut off. "When was it?!"

"Uh… t-today?"

"Oh my god! Aw, did you throw yourself a little party here with no one else?" Her expression was sympathetic, but it changed to something determined. "Give me your phone."

"W-What?"

She snapped her finger. "Phone. Now."

"Y-Yes ma'am."

He handed it to her without even thinking about it. Maybe it was her tone, maybe it was that she was a little taller than he was. She opened it, her fingers moving rapidly over the keypad.

"Wow, I can't believe you still have one of these old things," she remarked. "That's a compliment, by the way, I think it's need you stay retro." She handed it back. "There, that has my number. I'll be in touch and you're coming out with me and Wendy before you go in for work."

"I… don't have any say in this do I?" he asked.

"Nope. See you here at six, I can Brad take over for the rest of the day. Better be here, mister or you'll be sorry," she warned.

"R-Right. Uh, see you then," he said.

Even though part of him felt nervous at the idea of going out, Mike also felt happy about it. He really did have a friend in Susie and it was great. He was feeling unsure about Wendy whom she mentioned, but Susie was really good socially, not like him. It would be fine and maybe he would actually enjoy himself.

So Mike had a smile on his face when he got into his apartment. Golden looked like she was turning herself around, Bonnie was being a little more receptive about it and he and Chica were starting to work things out. He had a friend outside them and she was taking him out for his birthday. Things were really turning around now.

Then his phone went off. A text. Mike frowned as he dug into his pocket for it. Who would be texting him? His first thought was Golden, but she was nowhere near that subtle. Maybe his parents wishing him a happy birthday but he was sure they'd call to do that. He pulled it out and flipped it open.

It was a number his phone didn't recognise. There was no contact name because whoever this was wasn't in his contacts. Yet they somehow had his number? Maybe it was just one of those stupid spam things about getting extra credit or something. He opened the message.

His heart seemed to stop completely when he finished reading it.

 _Hey Mike._

 _It's been a while._

 _Sorry for being out of the blue, but I just remembered what day it is today. Happy birthday. I'm actually in town and I heard you are too. Maybe we could meet up sometime? I think it'd be good for us to talk._

 _Hope you're doing well._

 _Lidiya._

Mike suddenly felt weak at the knees. His heart hadn't stopped, it was beating at what felt like an erratic rate. A very unpleasant feeling set in his stomach. His mind was a complete mess, he didn't know what to think first. He barely even reacted when the screen flickered on and Golden materialised on it, wearing a party hat in place of her top hat and holding a party blower.

"Happy birthday again, Mike!" She blew it. "I know you've already had your party, but I was thinking we could…" She trailed off when she saw the state he was in. "Mike? What is it, what's wrong?"

Mike tried to reply properly, but it came out as an unintelligible groan.

"Okay, let's see." She frowned thoughtfully. "Something clearly upset you, scared you by the look of it. Were your faeces an odd colour?"

He shook his head.

"Has your save file of Final Fantasy XII been corrupted?"

Again, he shook his head.

"Well then…" Her eyes saw the phone in his hand. "Wait… am I okay to look?"

He nodded. In the span of a second she vanished and reappeared, but this time she shared a similar expression to him.

"It's… really her?" she asked.

"Yes," Mike finally managed and curled up on the sofa.

A few seconds of silence passed before Golden said something that perfectly surmised the situation.

"Well, damn."

* * *

Hickorydaisy: Very well then.

MajorVidGamer: Well that's one out of two.

Lavender Hope: I do love giving my readers fuzzies. Yeah, it won't be easy but now she is going to try.  
Yes, I am.

Zanza Flux: Yeah, even Mike has his limits especially when he knows he's not completely to blame.  
Bonnie may not show it overtly, but she does care a lot.  
I hope that ended satisfactorily enough for you.

Arc of Carona: Your reviews are certainly concise.

Fairyhaven13: Yes, you managed to spare yourself the horror.  
If she did that, she would likely break his jaw.  
I am looking forward to it too, both your art and bringing everything together.

DnWolfy: I already had this one written up, so I thought I may as well.  
Why not make it a story?  
There's your answer.  
You should be.

Lord Zalgo: Emotional growth is always good.

Monkey999Boy: … There's a little more to than that.  
You assume correctly.

ChickenNicker: Fangirling is excused. It's really amazing seeing the kind of passion you hold for my version of the character. I'd hoped they would all come across as reasonably complex and I'm glad to have achieved that. I'm sure she'd be very, very flattered and touched to know you feel that way towards her. You're very welcome, Chick and I'm very happy you've enjoyed it.

Auto-Buscus: A hope we all have.  
Empathy always helps.  
I can attest to that myself.  
Indeed.

 **Hey everyone. Hope you all enjoyed this latest instalment.**

 **This is again to say that for now, you're going to have to wait again. Final year of university and everything means I have a lot of other things I need to focus on. My dissertation, my other essays, preparing for life after higher education, I have a lot I need to sort out. Rest assured that ideas and planning for these stories are still buzzing in my head but again, this has to be on the back bench.**

 **I hope you all understand my situation and thanks again for tuning in with another volume of the Synthetic Saga. Hope you can join me again next time.**

 **Be strong, be swift, be just.**

 **Alpha.**


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